Avatar Story Ideas
by Akatsuki Leader13
Summary: A collection of story ideas I have for Avatar. Some crossovers, others AUs.
1. The Vampire Countess

Yo everybody! I know, I know, I should be working on one of my stories rather than this. But over this summer, I've had number of story ideas pop into my head, mostly a lot of Avatar ones. And that's what I spent a great deal of my summer working on. So I had decided to combine them together into a collection of little stories for your enjoyment. Now, if anyone wants to take these ideas and use it to create their own work, just ask.

Now I will be updating this from time with new story ideas. I certainly have a few others that are nearing completion and will be up within the comings days.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender nor do I own any of the other universes featured in crossover story ideas.

* * *

"It is a beautiful night," the Lord and Master of Republic City said, staring out from a balcony atop the tallest of city's buildings. "A shame it must be bogged down with politics."

"As you say my Lord," a servant replied. "The Lahmian delegation is waiting for you my Lord."

The Lord looked away from the city, glancing at the lowly servant standing there. "Then let us not keep Neferata's daughters any longer."

The servant bowed. "As you wish my Lord," he said before turning to the chamber doors.

While the servant opened the double doors female warriors clad in black and green with white and red masks emerged from the shadows of the dimly lit room. The Lahmians were claiming that they wished to discuss forming an alliance. Of course, it was just as likely that this was planned to be an assassination attempt. Only a fool would blindly trust a Lahmian.

The doors were opened and the Lahmian delegation entered. Six pale yet stunningly beautiful women, clad in the finest clothes and jewelry. Flanking the group were ten more masked warriors. They stopped once they reached the center of the room, kneeling down before the Lord of the so-called 'Kingless City'.

The leader of the group, a gray eyed, auburn haired woman raised her head up. "We bring you greetings from Queen Neferata, Lord-"

A hand was raised, cutting her off. "I know it is not your style, but let us skip the pleasantries and formalities of the Court," the Lord said. "As you can see, we are not in the Court this night. So simply say what you want and what you have to offer so I can decide and be done with this annoying matter."

This caught the Lahmian off-guard for a moment. The Lahmians lived and breathed, so to speak, the aristocratic world. They could navigate the seas of court politics with the skill of a mariner traversing the waters of the ocean. Though they were more like sharks than anything else which is what ultimately made them dangerous.

Trusting them completing was outright dangerous as they could easily begin manipulating the secret court of city in their favor, gaining more and more power until the city was their plaything. But at the same time, refusing them could be just as dangerous. Their Queen could come to see the secret rulers of Republic City as a threat, manipulating things outside the city against them.

As always, treading carefully through the politics of their society was paramount.

The Lahmia quickly regained her composure. "All we ask is for is place within the city for a coven of our Sisterhood as well as place within your Court," she answered. "As for what we have to offer, we have brought with us many treasures from our Queen as token of respect for a young Progenitor that has accomplished so much in such a short time."

The Lord studied the woman carefully, searching for any signs of deception while contemplating the offer. What they wanted was relatively small compared to what others had asked, but again these were Lahmians and were far more politically devious than most others. As to the treasures, perhaps there would be an interesting item or two among the useless baubles and trinkets.

Neferata was not one to give valuable gifts away.

"Very well, I accept your trinkets," the Lord finally spoke. "However, there are number of rules you must abide by if you are to live with the city."

The Ruler of the City turned away, gesturing for the leader of the Lahmians to follow as they moved towards one of the tables in the room. Upon the table sat a full map of Republic City with a number of marker pins piercing the paper. "As you can see, others have been allowed to set up their own domains within the city just as you will be allowed to," the Lord explained. "These domains are private places. Neither you nor your sisters are allowed to enter the domains of the others just as they will not be allowed into yours'. In addition, this city is neutral ground. Any fighting or plotting against other groups within the city will not be tolerated."

"Then there are the rules of the city itself." The Lord turned from the map to the Lahmian. "While you are more than welcome to feed among the people, it is paramount to remember that we on this city desire anonymity. Excessive death and disappearances are… well let's just say it's frowned upon. So when you feed, it's wise to reframe from draining them completely."

A servant approached the pair, bowing low. The Lord reached out, pulling back the man's hair and collar revealing a tattoo of a winged serpent coiled around a fireball. "Those who bare these marks are my servants and they are off-limits. If one disappears or turns up dead, I will be quite angry."

The Lahmian nodded. "Of course, who wouldn't be?"

"Finally, I must know every member of your Sisterhood that you are bringing into the city. And every time you wish to bring a new member into this city, you must come to me for approval," the Lord continued. "Also, my approval must be received before the Blood Kiss can be administered on someone within the city. All of these rules are to maintain the status quo here in the city. We don't need word of our existence to escape to the masses. I'm sure that you are quite aware of the ancient wars and how they turned out. Needless to say, any violation of these rules will be punished harshly."

The woman bowed. "As you wish, your Lordship. We will abide by the rules of the city."

"Good," the Lord replied with a nod. "I will have quarters prepared for you and your entourage until you have chosen your domain."

With a gesture, another servant stepped up to the pair. "If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will show you to your quarters," she said, bowing her head low.

The woman gave a slight nod in response and servant led the Lahmians and the warriors that had come with them out of the room, followed by nearly all of the servants. Once they were gone and the doors closed, the Lord let out a bored sigh, returning to the balcony.

All of the remaining warriors disappeared into the shadows, leaving the room. Save for one. The lone warrior pulled off her mask, revealing her young, pale face. "Tell me Ty Lee, how did you think that little meeting went?" the Lord asked.

"Well… I am a little surprise that you accepted them into the city so quickly," the girl admitted. "I mean the Lahmians are…"

"Devious vipers?" her master replied. "Of course they are. I am no fool. At the very least, Neferata wishes to keep an eye on me and this city, at the most, she sees me as a potential threat or rival and wishes to remove me. Either way, things are becoming interesting."

"Then what are you going to do about them Azula?" Ty Lee asked.

For a moment, Azula was silent as resumed watching her city. She had ruled Republic City since its creation fifty-eight years ago, though for twenty-six of those years, she, Ty Lee and a few others had wandered the world, in search of forgotten lore and treasures, leaving another to rule in her stead.

And yet despite all the years on this world, she was still as young and beautiful as ever, just as Ty Lee was.

Azula raised a hand and snapped her fingers. The lone servant girl approached her and held up her arm. Her master opened her mouth, revealing two fangs before biting down on the offered wrist. The girl let out a moan of pleasure as Azula drain some of her blood, nowhere near enough to kill the girl, just enough to satisfy Azula's hunger. Afterwards she licked the two puncture wounds, her saliva rapidly healing the marks. Having fed her mistress, the servant left the chamber.

Her personal servants were among the only mortals that knew the truth history of Republic City's founding and that vampires were not myths.

Azula had been as instrumental in city's construction as those who laid down the first bricks. Of course, few knew this. As far as the masses were concerned, she did not exist which was exactly how she wanted it. She was quite content with ruling the city from the shadows.

After all, should they find out about her and true rulers of the city, the people would rise up, not just here, but in the entire world to cast out of the city and destroy them. Sure, they were stronger, faster and all around better than humans, but they were far more numerous. Years of studying the history of her fellows as well as her own experiences taught her one thing above all else, humans are surprisingly resourceful creatures that are more than capable of defeating beings far greater than themselves. Only a fool would underestimate them, something that Neferata, Vashanesh and countless others had long forgotten.

But she would never make that mistake.

…Again.

Regardless, Azula knew that she was in a truly precarious position. She was the thirteen and youngest person to have drunk the Elixir of Life, the potion that created the First Vampires and the Progenitors of the Vampire Race. However, it had not been her choice to drink the Elixir. Vashanesh, one of the original Twelve Vampire Lords, had forced her to drink the last vial of the Elixir during her time in the asylum as a part of his plot to conquer the world. Not long after that she had broken out of the asylum after feeding on a dozen or so people there and killing more people there in a delusional frenzy. Then she managed to sneak aboard a merchant ship, draining the crew one by one until the vessel beached itself on, of all places, Kyoshi Island.

Azula shook her head, turning back from her reflections on the past. It disgusted her just how insane she had been back then. But she had long conquered her madness and had since thrived like never before. She had spent years studying and learning, not just the history of her kind but other skills and arts as well. From the dark magical arts of the Vampires to her firebending abilities to more mundane arts, Azula had honed her abilities far beyond what she had ever previous believed possible and would continue to for as long as she existed.

"What I have always done, watch them and strike when the need arises," Azula finally answered. "Should they choose to strike; they will not find me easy prey."

A stance she had chosen to take when other vampires began to creep into her city. At the time, her powerbase had been rather weak which is what invited them in and had she tried to aggressively confront them, there was a danger of the more organized group would band together to destroy the young upstart. So she had started allowing other vampires into the city, provided that they obey her rules. For the most part, they accept this though some plotted behind her back to dispose of her and take everything she had built for herself.

But that was a part of their inherent predatory, selfish nature and to be expected.

In fact, the meeting with the Lahmians had been more of a show than anything else. She had long decided to allow the Lahmians into the city. It had just been a ploy to gage what they were really after.

However, Azula's musings were cut short when two warriors, a male and female, entered. Both were clad in similar uniforms of black and dark green, the attire of the Warriors of Kyoshi. While the woman's uniform was exactly the same as other female warriors but with a gold headdress and without the mask, the man's clothes consisted of a long coat and pants. Strapped to the man's back was a sheathed sword while he held an object wrapped in cloth.

"The Strigoi beast is dead," the male warrior said, throwing the object while pulling back the cloth.

Azula glanced at them for a second before glancing down at the object. The head looked vaguely human but its ears were pointed, its teeth were sharp and needle-like and a number of small horns dotted its hairless head. "Good," she said. "I trust the body has been disposed of."

Both warriors nodded. "Yes. Only the head remains," the woman answered.

Republic City's ruler turned back to her balcony and the hundreds of buildings below. "But there's something else, isn't there?" she commented.

"The new Avatar has come to the city."

Azula leaned onto the railing of the balcony. The announcement was simple despite the gravity of what meant and how it could affect the delicate power balance of the city's shadow court. "Oh? Then they must be seeking out your nephew," she said, her tone belying the full scope of the matter.

The man tensed while the other two women gave him questioning glances. "Yes, I know that your nephew is living here just as I know that you have been protecting him from anyone or anything that would seek to harm him," Azula continued.

"You…you…" the warrior uttered.

The lord smirked in response. "Rest easy Sokka," she said, giving an offhanded wave. "I have no interest in him or in stopping you from protecting him."

Despite her words, the three of them eyed Azula with a mixture of worry, concern and suspicion. "It would be rude not to personally welcome such an esteemed guest to our city," Azula proclaimed. "Have the new Avatar brought to me."

None of them made any move to carry out her orders. Azula had expected that. "Relax. I have no interest in harming the Avatar," she dismissively added. "I simply wish to meet them. So go and fetch the new Avatar."

* * *

Korra yawned as she laid down on the bed. She had finally reached Republic City, the home of Tenzin, after weeks of traveling from the Fire Nation. Of course, she still had to find him and that wouldn't be an easy task. Republic City was one of the largest cities in the world. Finding a single man here could be difficult.

"I've had to do worse before," she mumbled, pulling the blankets over herself.

She put out the oil lamp on her nightstand and closed her eyes, beginning to drift into sleep…

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her by the throat and pulled from the bed, slamming her on the ground. Three lamps lit up, illuminating the room. Standing over Korra were four female warriors clad in black and dark green leather armor and upon their faces were white masks with various crimson designs. Three of them held the lanterns while the fourth continued to pin her to the ground.

They were the Kyoshi Warriors.

Long before she had been born, the Kyoshi Warriors had modeled themselves after their namesake and one of Korra's previous lives, Avatar Kyoshi. They were formidable warrior-maidens that had helped Avatar Aang end the One Hundred Year War, though they also bore the stigma of betrayal. During the final year of the war, a group of the Warriors had turned traitor, aiding the Fire Nation in conquering the great city of Ba Sing Se. But those traitors had been killed and the honor of the Kyoshi Warriors restored.

However, fate would not be kind to them and their people. Several years after the war ended, the terrible plague ravaged much of the southern Earth Kingdom, starting at Kyoshi Island itself. The entire island was wiped out, save for the Warriors themselves. Something, perhaps the spirit of Avatar Kyoshi, saved them from death. With their families and friends dead, they set fire to the island and left, unaware that while the plague had not killed them, they were carriers of the disease. For months, the plague ravaged the southern provinces but ultimately it would die out.

Afterwards, the Kyoshi Warriors seemed to have disappeared, for there was no sign of them until five years after Republic City first emerged. They came to the growing city, offering their services as a police force for hire. Those neighborhoods and districts that could afford them received the greatest protection from crime. From what she had heard, they tirelessly and ruthlessly hunted down anyone that dare commit a crime in place that they protected.

"Avatar Korra," the one holding her down said. "You will come with us."

Korra pondered her words for a few seconds. "I don't think so," she replied an instant before she breathed out a blast of fire.

But the warrior pinning her down was fast, far too fast, pulling her head back. "That was unnecessary," the warrior said, unleashing a series of lightning fast jabs on the Avatar with the index and middle fingers of her free hand.

Those few taps cased a numbness to spread into Korra's body. She tried to breath out more fire only to find that her bending no longer worked. The warrior lifted Korra back up to her feet. "Your ability to bend has been temporarily blocked. Any further-"

Korra headbutted the warrior, causing her to stumble back as their mask flew off. The Avatar let out as gasp, her eyes widening as she stared at face that had been hidden beneath the mask. Before she could react, Korra found herself slammed against a wall. "I grow tired of this," the Kyoshi Warrior hissed.

The skin of the Warrior's face was stretched back, a pair of fangs in her mouth and glowing red eyes, giving her a beastly appearance.

"What are you…" a horrified Korra uttered.

Her only answer was a fist…

* * *

Korra groaned as she regained consciousness, her head throbbing. A cloth bag sat on her head, obscuring her vision while her hands and legs were bound. Suddenly, a hand pulled her up and set the Avatar on her knees before pulling the cloth off.

She was in some kind of private study. Rows of shelves lined walls, each filled with books and tomes, some old, others utterly ancient. Behind her was a set of large double doors with two of the Kyoshi Warriors standing guard while directly in front of the young Avatar, stood a young woman on a balcony overlooking the city below. It was then that Korra realized that she was in the tallest building of Republic City. "Greetings Avatar," the pale woman clad in black and red said as she turned to face her. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the lord and master of this city-"

"Hold it!" Korra exclaimed. "First off, what kind of welcome is this? You kidnapped me and tie me up!"

The woman nodded. "Fair enough. Untie her."

One of the women behind her knelt down and cut the ropes binding her. Once she was free, Korra stood up, rubbing her wrists. "Second, this is Republic City! It was founded under the idea that the people here would be governed by an elected council, not ruled by a lord, a duke or a king. I have no idea what you're trying to pull lady, but there's no way that you're the ruler of this city."

The woman laughed as she started to approach the young Avatar. "Do you really think that 'democracy' actually works?" she asked. "A thousand people have a thousand beliefs. It's impossible for that many people to come to a consensus on anything. They will fight and squabble over pointless matters, accomplishing nothing. Truth of the world is that the masses _need_ individuals to lead them, even if they don't realize it."

"But the people _want _democracy! That's why they founded this city!" Korra countered.

"Did they? Or perhaps I and your predecessor, merely arranged for it to be created," the woman arrogantly commented. "And perhaps I created the council to appease the masses with the idea of democracy and control over how the city is run while providing me with a nice public face to deal with all of those dull administrative chores."

Korra didn't like this woman. She had this air of aristocratic arrogance. Those kind of people always got under her skin. Nor did she believe this woman's claims. "Why have you brought me here? And just who are you?"

"Because you are Avatar and you are visiting my domain," she replied. "A guest of your stature demands a personal greeting. As to whom I am, I assume you know the story of your predecessor and how he ended the war."

Korra nodded. "Of course," she said.

"Then you already know who I am."

The young Avatar couldn't believe this woman! She had to delusional or something. None of what she was saying made sense nor was even possible! "What?" Korra exclaimed, voicing her bewilderment. "What are you talking about? That doesn't make any sense! If you had been involved in that you'd be an old woman or dead. But you're as young as me!"

"I think I liked your predecessor more," the woman said, dismissing her words. "For all his faults, and believe there were many, he had manners and could listen without interrupting." She paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "Tell me, what do they say about Fire Lord Zuko's sister?"

Korra blinked her eyes in confusion, wondering what that long dead girl what to do with any of this. "Azula? She went insane and died years ago in an asylum," she answered.

"Indeed I did," the woman replied. "Of course, I've long since learned that dying and ceasing to be are two very different things."

"What are you talking about?"

"I am Azula," the woman proclaimed. "And yes, I died in that asylum. My heart stopped beating long ago, yet here I am."

Korra shook her head. "That's impossible," she said, growing more convinced that this woman was utterly insane.

Azula, the woman, whoever she was, smirked. "Hearing that from the Avatar of all people is quite funny. Your predecessor wasn't narrow-minded," she commented. "When he learned about all of this, he took it in stride. It's a shame that you aren't as open-minded. But it is high time you learn that there are more things that hide in the dark corners than what the masses realize. And these things that are beginning to return to the world you know, Avatar."

"Hm… Well, good luck with that crazy lady," Korra said, turning to leave. "And don't worry about me, I'll show myself out."

The two Warriors standing guard raised their arms, barring her path. Korra looked back at Azula, ready for fight. But the woman waved her hand, wordless commanding the two to stand down. "Very well Avatar. I brought you here merely to welcome you to my city. I will not hold you any longer," she said. "But be careful where go at night. There are those who would be quite eager to kill the Avatar, or worse."

Korra continued to eye her suspiciously. "Is that a threat?"

"No. A warning," she replied, a grin spreading across her face. Korra took a step back, gasping in shock. "There are far worse things out there than I"

Just like that one Kyoshi Warrior, her face had transformed into a monstrous visage. The Avatar could only gap in fear. What were these women? "Take her back to her room," the woman ordered before Korra could say anything.

A hand struck the back of her head and darkness consumed Korra once more.

* * *

"She's quite a rude one, isn't she?" Azula commented, watching as her servants carried her away.

"I prefer to think of her as high-spirited."

She let out a snicker. "Of course you would, Old Man," she said, turning to the voice. "So what brings you to my abode?"

The spirit of Avatar Aang stood before her. Though he was not in the form of the old man he had been in his final years, rather he was in the form of the young boy that had bested her and her father. It was said that spirits could appear as they did at any point of their lives, from youthful child to withered elder. "There have been rumblings in the Spirit World. Something is coming," Aang said, worry and concern etched in her face. "Something terrible."

"And you want me to keep an eye out in case someone within my city is helping bring what you fear to this world," she replied. "Something I have been doing for years already."

"And?"

"And while there are many of my kind plotting here, most of those plots are against me. They want to kill me and take over the city," she answered, wandering over to one of the bookshelves. "So why don't you return to the Spirit World and leave watching over this world to your successor."

She pulled out several books before putting them back in different places. The entire shelf slowly moved forward. Once it stopped, Azula effortlessly pushed it aside, revealing the passage to her true private study. "Azula, we've been through a lot but I like to think that in the last years of my life, we developed a mutual respect for one another and the ability to work together despite our past," Aang said, stopping her as she stood at the threshold. "You know that I would not have come here unless things were truly as bad as they are. Something terrible is coming and Republic City is one of places tied to it somehow."

Azula glanced back at him. "And what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Keep an eye out for anything suspicious and help Korra anyway you can while she's here."

The undead woman waved her hand at him dismissively. "Fine, I will help her. Now leave. I have little desire to see face from my days among the living."

* * *

"I trust the meal was you satisfaction, my love."

"Yes," she purred, licking the blood from her lips. At her feet was the body of a young girl, drained completely of blood. "Such young blood… much better than the paltry meals we managed to find while we were traveling." "And do not think that I have forgotten about you, my beloved."

She offered her arm to her love, cutting her wrist with one of her sharp fingernails. Greedily, he drank up the offered blood. Once satisfied, he pulled his head up and the two kissed, their bloody tongues dancing together.

"I love you," she whispered to her ghoul and mortal lover, tracing the scar on the left side of his face.

"And I love you Mai," Zuko, the former Fire Lord replied to his undead wife as he held her.

"Soon, we have our vengeance against her," Mai uttered. "As she destroyed our lives, we will destroy her unlife."

But before Zuko could respond, Mai glanced over at the end of the alley. "The Warriors are coming. We must leave before they find us."

With that, the two disappeared into the night.

* * *

As you can see, this is another Avatar/Warhammer Fantasy crossover, featuring a little of Vampire: The Masquerade. Now, Vampires are my not favorite of supernatural creatures (that position belongs to werewolves), especially after the bastardization they received from Twilight, but the Vampire Counts of Warhammer and the universe of Vampire: The Masquerade are among some of my favorite things.

Now this idea is actually attached to two stories. The obvious one being a story set during the events of the upcoming Avatar series while the second one is set several years after Avatar, with the turning of the half-mad Azula and all the devastation of she caused before being stopped.


	2. Tales of the Golden Phoenix

This one is another crossover, but it is also easily my favorite out of all of these idea. And probably the one I'd most likely write into a full story if I get the inclination.

* * *

The Battlefield…

A vast graveyard of broken spaceships resting within a turbulent region of space known simply as the Maw. It was home to the shattered hulks, ranging from the mighty warships of the Imperium of Man to the sleek crafts of the Eldar to the crude vessels of Orks to the ships of countless extinct and forgotten aliens races. Many of remains had been destroyed or crippled in battle, eventually drifting into the currents of the Maw before being thrown into the region. Others had been caught in the violent warp tides, tearing them apart and casting out what was left within this forsaken place.

But the empty silence of the Battlefield was about to be disturbed…

A vortex of churning, crackling red, pink and purple energy opened up inside the lifeless realm. From within the center of the glowing whirlpool a vessel emerged. Not a dead, broken shell of one but an intact craft, stray purple bolts striking the energy field surrounding it as the ship left the vortex. Once the vessel created it, the vortex sealed itself up.

The ship was a Tempest-class strike frigate of the Imperium of Man. Formerly in the service of the Imperial Navy, the _Golden Phoenix _had long since passed into the service of the Agni Rogue Trader Dynasty.

An ancient but still strong warship, the _Phoenix _had fought and endured through countless campaigns against the enemies of Man. The fact that it had survived through so much was a testament to the ship as well as its previous captains and crews. While there had been times that _Phoenix _had been severely damaged and crippled, it had stayed true to its name, always rising up from the ashes to serve once more.

Since passing from the Navy and into the possession of the Agni Dynasty, there had been some significant changes to the frigate. Across its armored prow, a great bird of dark red and blue amid a field of gold and crimson flames had been painted. Along the ship's hull multiple additional maneuvering thrusters had installed. Near the rear of the sides of the vessel were the _Phoenix's_ two main batteries. On its port side was a Mars Pattern Macrocannon, a reliable, hard-hitting ordinance gun. Originally, a second Macrocannon sat on the starboard side of the frigate as well, but it had since been replaced with a more unique weapon. The last crusade the _Phoenix _took part in as a part of the Imperial Navy was against a now forgotten xeno empire. In the final space battle of the war, the _Phoenix_ had been the sole survivor of a frigate squadron that had managed to cripple the alien flagship, allowing the larger warships of the Imperium to finish the job. After the battle and after her captain had been awarded with a Warrant of Trade, one of the xeno warship's Shard Cannon Batteries had been installed on the _Phoenix_ by some of the less conservative members of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

But it wasn't just the exterior of the _Golden Phoenix _that had been upgraded and modified. Adamantine bulkheads and plates had been installed in vital locations within the ancient frigate, adding to the strength of its hull and frame. Many of the vessel's large cargo holds had been compartmentalized and spread out evenly across the ship, minimizing both the effect that the weight of holds would have on its maneuverability and the chance that a lucky shot could take out their cargo. The original chapel to the God-Emperor had been expanded into a full-fledged temple-shrine while a small cargo hold had been repurposed into librarium vault, filled with a vast collection of tomes and writings that covered a variety of topics, from the local history of the Calixis Sector and the Koronus Expanse, to xeno lore, to the legends and myths of the Imperium.

All and all, a fine vessel for any Rogue Trader worth their Warrant of Trade.

The vessel's captain rose from her command throne, surveying the vast region of space before them through the vista panels of the bridge. "The Battlefield… What a truly desolate place this is," Azula, the newest leader of the Agni Dynasty commented as her vessel sailed into the infamous region.

She was young woman of slightly above average height and aristocratic features. So young was she in fact, that she only had two years of experience serving aboard other vessels within her family's fleet of trade ships and cargo haulers. Were it not for the sudden and unexpected death of her father, Ozai and their family's Warrant of Trade passing onto her, Azula would have spent more years aboard the support ships, learning the trade of sailing and commanding a vessel in the void.

But to call her unprepared for or incapable of being a full Rogue Trader and head of a Dynasty would be a grave mistake. For not only had her everyday been spent in preparation for carrying on her family's legacy, but she had been born exceptionally talented and intelligent, a prodigy like her grandfather.

The uniform that Azula wore was similar to ones the officers in the Imperial Navy wore; save that it was black and red, trimmed with gold. Around her waist was a red sash that was held by a gold pin that was in the shape of a twin-headed eagle, the Aquila, symbol of the Imperium of Man while a smaller leather belt surrounded it. Half hidden between the cloth and leather belts at the right side of her waist were a pair of ornate dueling laspistols and opposite them was a power sword. Overtop of her dress shirt, she wore a long open coat of same colors as the rest of her clothes. Hanging from the shoulders of the coat were gold tassels while two larger tassels hung across the front of the coat, just below her throat. Pinned to the right breast of her coat was another Aquila while across from it was a gold firebird clutching a seven-sided star. Azula's long black hair had been tied into a topknot, her locks pouring down behind her back.

Close behind Azula stood her older brother, Zuko, his hands behind his back. Standing a full head taller than her, he was clad an identical, albeit less grandiose uniform. Though unlike Azula, he kept his long coat zipped up and it lacked the pins and tassels of hers. There was also a firebird design identical on the left breast of his coat. Holstered on the belt around his waist was a laspistol and power sword but Azula knew that there were at least a few more concealed weapons on his person. His black hair was also tied back in a much shorter topknot. One of his most notable features was the burn scar that dominated the side of his face.

Though Zuko was the firstborn, it was determined that he lacked the necessary ability and willpower to carry on the legacy of the Agni Dynasty, particularly after she had begun to display her prodigious talent. However, there was one field that he showed a particular talent for, fighting. Their father concluded that she would be his heir while Zuko would be trained to be her bodyguard. Which surprisingly suited Zuko just fine. Inheritance feuds were common among Rogue Trader Dynasties. In fact, their own father had fought for a time with their uncle for the Warrant of Trade before coming to an agreement. Luckily for her, Zuko had little interest in leading their Dynasty.

Instead of receiving the formal education and training that a normal child of Rogue Trader received like her, he had been given a much different education, far from her as would turn out. When he was nine or ten, she couldn't exactly remember how old he was; Zuko was taken away and she did not see him again until eleven years later, on her eighteenth birthday when he was given to her as a bodyguard. What he did during those years, he never said and she never asked.

What she did know that he was the strong, silent, hyper lethal type. Ideal for bodyguard work, among other things.

A woman in a black and red uniform approached the pair but her attention was on the dataslate in her hand, writing on it with an autoquil. Due to her position within the Dynasty, she was permitted to wear the uniform of Agni Dynasty rather than the uniforms of the _Phoenix_. The woman's black hair had been done up in two small buns near the top of her head, with two long bangs hanging behind her ears and down the front of her shoulders.

"Indeed," Mai, her personal Seneschal and right hand agreed. "Given its position within the Maw and its history, it's unsurprising that the _Emperor's Bounty_ ended up here."

Mai's family had been serving the Agni family since the days of Sozin, before he was awarded with the Warrant of Trade. Naturally, the generations of service had been rewarded and her family was among the highest, second only to Azula's own family. As a result, Mai's upbringing was a combination of the privilege that wealth brought and being taught to serve the Dynasty above all else. As a result, she was well versed in a wide variety of fields, from typical things such as commerce, logistics and ceremonies, to more _interesting_ fields. While Azula lead the Agni Dynasty, it was individuals like Mai that ensured that every aspect of their business and trade flowed smoothly, regardless of what it took.

Azula turned from the large screens, turning to the crew and servitors that were manning the various consoles and stations on the bridge. "Have the augers zeroed in on the _Bounty's _Salvation Beacon?" she asked.

"Aye ma'am," the replied came from of the crewmen. "Starboard; thirty-seven degrees. Distance; approximately four hundred fifty thousand kilometers."

"Helm, take us in. Quarter speed," Azula ordered with a wave of her hand. "Have the gunner crews on full alert. I don't want anything hitting us."

The _Golden Phoenix _began to turn, its mighty Jovian Pattern Class 2 Plasma Drives powering up, heading deeper into the vast debris field. Occasionally, bursts from the vessel's defense turrets shredded chucks of debris while smaller fragments hit its void shields and destroyed.

Eventually, the _Phoenix _came to a stop, reaching the edge of a denser part of the field, filled with the drafting remains of various ships, pitted and corroded from untold years of unprotected exposure to the void of space. From time to time, chunks crashed into each other, sometimes bouncing away while other times they jammed together, becoming a large piece of debris, yet other still crashed and shattered on contact with each other. There were all manner of craft there, from small, half-crushed shuttles and gunships to torn chunks of mammoth Cruisers and Battleships. And there, near the center of the chaotic field shattered and blackened vessels, was a battered Light Cruiser, a weak flicker of light emanating from its plasma drives.

"There it is," Azula said, staring at the vessel. "The _Emperor's Bounty_."

"The vessel is deep within the debris field. We will not be able to bring the _Phoenix _safely through the field to the _Bounty_," the ship's senior Tech-Priest, Enginseer Jast emotionlessly reported. "Any attempt to bring the ship within the field will result in significant damage." The man paused for a moment and then added, "Oddly, the _Bounty's_ Gellar Field appears to be currently activated, though significantly weak."

Azula sat back down on her throne, pondering things. Jast was right. The field was far too heavy to bring the _Phoenix _safely alongside the larger vessel. Any attempt would only damage the ship, eating up most if not all of their profits from this venture. But also the fact that the cruiser's Gellar Field was active puzzled her. A ship's Gellar Field protected her during Warp Travel from the innumerable dangers and horrors of the Warp. Though she couldn't discount the possibility that the disaster that claimed the _Bounty_ occurred during a travel through the Warp either and somehow the Field remained active afterwards.

"Then let's just blast through it," Toph Bei Fong offhandedly commented, her bionic eyes glowing a pale blue. "Enough shots and we'll have ourselves a clear path."

While not the tallest of women, Toph was a well built individual. Her black hair was cut short in style more akin to man's than a women's. There were a few small scars upon her face, mementos from her years of participating in the ship's deck fights. Despite her demeanor and the marks marring her face, Toph still retained the feminine aristocratic features of a woman of her lineage.

She wore a pair of dark green work pants, held up by a leather belt with a large buckle with the image of two fists striking and creating an explosion in gold. Above the belt was a simple white short sleeved shirt that showed off the toned muscles of her arms. On her hands was a pair of heavy leather gloves. Overtop of the shirt was a dark green vest trimmed with gold and pinned to the vest was the gold badge of her station. The badge was of a skull biting down on an artillery shell on a seven-sided star.

Toph was one of the more interesting individuals of the crew. She had been born the heir of Lao Bei Fong, the Planetary-Governor of Hive World Merov and head of one of the wealthiest families of the Golgenna Reach sub-sector of the Calixis Sector. However, she had been born blind. A simple pair of bionic eyes was more than enough to correct that but her parents became fearful of their daughter's wellbeing, believing that she had been born weak and could not survive in the world beyond the walls of the Palace. They felt she needed to be hidden away, protected from the outside world and all its dangers.

Their daughter did not feel that way. She felt smothered by their coddling, yearning for freedom. At an early age, she began sneaking out of the Governor's Palace, first exploring the Hive Spire that Palace was located before eventually heading downward into the lower levels of the vast Hive City. Incredibly, no one within the Palace ever discovered her excursions. But ultimately her trips weren't enough for her and at age thirteen she managed to smuggle herself abroad the _Golden Phoenix_, hoping to find adventure among the stars. She found a place for herself among the ship's gunnery crews, learning their trade with vigor. For the first time in her life, Toph found a place where she belonged.

In time, word reached Azula's father of an unusual teenage girl from the gunnery crews that had been winning a number of the organized deck fights, drawing his attention. He had Toph brought to him so he could see from himself what was so special about this girl. Immediately, Ozai could see that there was something different about her. Her father asked where she had come from to which Toph replied that she had come from the lower levels of Hive Gaoling on Merov. To which Ozai had bluntly stated that she was lying as her bionics were of the highest quality and only those who lived at the top of the Hive Spires could afford such eyes. After that she came clean about who she was, begging not to be brought back to her parents.

He did not. Instead, he sent her back to her station among the mighty guns of the _Phoenix_ with special instructions to her immediate superiors to see to it that she was taught every aspect of the warship's guns, from the multi-lasers and quad-barreled auto-cannon turrets, to the Mars Pattern Macrocannon and Shard Cannon Battery.

Now the woman was Master of Ordnance for _Phoenix_ and the undisputed Deck Fighter Champion.

"No," Azula replied dismissively. "We'd risk hitting the _Bounty_." She turned to another of her crew, a woman standing near the command throne. "Tell me Suki, do you sense anything abroad the ship?"

The woman placed a hand on her temple and closed her dead, sightless eyes. "Yes… It's faint and shielding itself but there is something abroad the ship," she said after a moment of silence.

Suki was an Astropath Transcendent, a psyker that had been trained and sanctioned by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. While the Imperium generally hated mutants, psykers were one of the few exceptions due to the vital roles they played. From sacrificial psykers that fueled the Astronomican to the powerful Battle Psykers that served among the ranks of the Imperial Guard to mighty psykers that became Inquisitors, Space Marine Librarians and the Grey Knights, psykers were necessary to the survival of Mankind. But at the same time, they were among the gravest of dangers to the Imperium. Without proper training from the Scholastia Psykana, a psyker was at danger of being overwhelmed by the Warp, unleashing unimaginable horrors upon the world around them.

An Astropath was one of more vital types of psykers in the Imperium, for they were the ones responsible for galactic communication. Without them, contact between distant systems would become severely hindered. If a major threat to the Imperium rose up, it would easily take years to receive word of the threat and to assemble a sizable force to counter it.

Suki solemn spoke of her past but from what Azula had pieced together, she had been born on a Death World that was home to a primitive human society that venerated the God-Emperor as the Great Father. At an early age, her psyker mutation marked the child in the eyes of her kin as a shaman, a primitive psyker that was actually trained fairly well considering their society. Of course, a part of it could be attributed to the dangerous nature of the world they lived in.

However, whatever she would have had as being her tribe's future shaman ended in her teenage years when one of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica's Blackships passed through the system, collecting psykers to be taken to Terra. Naturally, Suki was among them.

Once on Terra, she had been ranked and placed among the second tier of psykers, strong in power but potentially not strong enough in will and character to resist daemonic corruption and trained to be an Astropath. After several years of training and preparation, Suki as part of a group of one hundred other psykers, was taken before the Emperor of Mankind and went through the Soul-Binding Ritual. What exactly happened in those rituals, Azula could not say. However, when it ended, Suki emerged blind but her soul bound forever to the Master of Mankind.

After that, she was chosen to serve the Agni Rogue Trader Dynasty as per the arrangement that her family had with the Astra Telepathica. At first, she served under Ozai during his final years and now under Azula herself.

Suki herself was a tall, well-built woman, born from her early years growing up on a Death World. She was clad in the green robes that most Astropaths wore, the hood pulled down revealing her short auburn hair. In the spaces between her nose and eyes were crimson streaks, running up over her dead eyes and along her temples. Undoubtedly they were ritual tattoos from the tribe that she had been born into. Adorning her robes was a number of trinkets and charms; purity seals, inscribed chains and locks, a few small bones and an Aquila pendant with a round bluish-green crystal on its breast. Suki held up a metal staff, topped with a metal square baring shining eye of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica.

"Survivors? Xenos?" Azula inquired, wishing to know just what could be waiting for them.

Suki lowered her hand, opening her eyes. "I cannot be certain. Not at this distance," she answered.

"Mai, Zuko, Suki, Toph, you're with me. Mister Jee, have a guncutter prepared for launch and Ty Lee, Aang, and Teo meet us at the hanger," she ordered, rising from her command throne. "We're going to board the _Bounty _and see if we can bring it out of the field. It won't matter if it sustains anymore damage. All that will be worth salvaging will be protected deep inside the interior of the vessel. Oh, and have that new Missionary of ours and her brother join us as well."

Her XO raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Miss Katara and Mister Sokka?" Jee asked.

The Rogue Trader nodded her head as she and her entourage left the bridge. "Yes, it's high time they earned their keep," she called back.

* * *

Azula pulled the gauntlet down onto her right arm, smirking in satisfaction as she flexed her fingers. Her body was covered in a suit of storm trooper-class carapace armor, the strongest non-powered armor available in the Imperium. Strapped to her right hip was Azula's personal laspistol and opposite it was her power sword while above both of them were the holstered dueling laspistols on her belt.

Next to her, Zuko slapped a clip into his bolter. Like her, he wore a suit of carapace armor though it was of the lighter verity that the Adeptus Arbites wore rather than her military-grade armor. He wore his long coat over the armor, concealing an assortment of tools and clips for his bolter strapped to bandoleers across his chest. Bolt weapons were notoriously destructive but costly to maintain and keep supplied, which was one of the reasons she herself shunned bolt weapons in favor of lasweapons. Of course, that didn't mean that she didn't see the value in such weapons. There were plenty of problems that could be best solved by a few explosive bolt rounds.

Behind them, Toph was dressed in flak armor, entered the hanger with a naval shotgun in her hands, grenade launcher strapped to her back and a power maul hanging from her belt.

Toph was always as subtle as an Ork mob.

Nearby, Suki adjusted the chestpiece of her own flak armor, her green robes visible underneath. Unlike the others, the astropath was meagerly armed. All she had was her staff and a laspistol. But that was all that she needed with abilities.

Azula threw her coat over her armor. "Come, our shuttle is waiting," she said.

* * *

When the group arrived at the hanger where the guncutter was waiting, the crews were still busy at work preparing it for launch, fueling it up and loading ammo into its weapons. While they were carrying out their duties, the shuttle's pilot, Ty Lee stood ready to go.

Ty Lee had been born on Calistra, a Frontier World in the Markayn Marches; a subsector of Calixis. However, this world was also home to a sizable Kroot population. Furthermore, because they were a fringe world in fringe sector of the Imperium, the people of Calistra had come to an agreement with the Kroot. They traded with the Kroot and protected their world together. Were it not for the fact that the Kroot were one of few 'tolerated' alien races in certain circles of Imperium, such an arrangement would be a death sentence if discovered.

Regardless, Calistra was a bountiful word and an excellent trade partner. The people of Calistra offered the natural resources they had, and occasionally Kroot weapons under the table, in exchange for wide number of items unavailable to their world.

Azula had first come to Calistra when she first served aboard one of her family's trade ships. That was when she first met Ty Lee, a rather bubbly teen on the verge of adulthood with an incredible wanderlust. While Azula had been overseeing the routine and utterly dull process of exchanging goods, the younger girl had begun pestering her to join her crew, to see the galaxy and everything. Frankly, she had annoyed had annoyed the hell out of her when they first met but she ultimately allowed the girl to join the crew of the trade ship.

And Azula had yet to regret it. Ty Lee was a skilled fighter, especially preferred knives and Kroot rifle, but her true talent lay as a pilot. She could fly a ship like a fish could swim through water. When Azula had inherited the Warrant of Trade and the _Phoenix_, she took Ty Lee with her.

Like Toph, the young woman had changed out of her normal dark blue uniform and into a suit of flak armor. Strapped to her back was her Kroot rifle, a gift from the Kroot of her world. While the bladed rifle looked primitive, it was actually highly sophisticated weapon that fired unusual pulse rounds. Resting in sheaths on the front of her belt was a pair of large knives and an autopistol was strapped to her right hip.

The moment they entered the hanger, Ty Lee smiled and raised her hand up in a salute. "Captain Azula, your pilot ready for action. The crews are just finishing up the last of the preparations. We'll be ready to go in a few minutes."

Azula nodded her head, waiting for the others to arrive. As it turned out, they didn't have to wait long for the next two to arrive, Aang and Teo.

Aang of House Aleene stepped into the hanger, silently approaching the armored craft. The young man was one of the most vital members of the entire crew of the _Phoenix_, for he was a Navigator, a mutant born for the sole purpose of navigating ships through the Warp safely. All Navigators were born with a third eye upon their forehead, the Warp Eye. And it was from that eye that all of their power comes from. The eye allowed them to see the currents of the Warp as well as the guiding light of the Astronomican Beacon on Holy Terra. Without a Navigator, a ship could only make the shortest of jumps through the Warp safely.

Though Aang was a Navigator, he was not the Navigator of the _Golden Phoenix_. That position belonged to his mentor, Gyatso for the time being. But when the elder Navigator felt he was experienced enough, Aang would become their Navigator while old Gyatso would return to the fleets of House Aleene to train other future Navigators.

Aang wore the Nobilite robes of his House overtop of a suit of mesh armor. Most of the robe was black with an orange hood and orange along cuffs and edges, and with gold trim and buttons. A line of gold buttons ran along the edge of the hood as well as along the sides of the open front of the robe. The chestplate of his grey mesh armor was revealed, showing off a golden winged eye with a black pupil and the metal high collar that covered Aang's neck. From the bottom corners of his hood came two thick cables that traveled down his sides and disappeared into the folds of his robes. Around Aang's waist was a dark belt with a gold and black Navigator Eye symbol on the buckle while a smaller winged Eye charm hung from a cloth bang beneath it. Sitting in a holster on his left side was an ancient Archeotech laspistol, an heirloom that had been passed down his family line for generations. In his left hand was staff topped with the Navigator's Eye, purity seals hanging from its sides. A silk headband was wrapped around his forehead, covering Aang's third eye.

Azula had heard that to look into a Navigator's third eye was to invite instant madness, death and the obliteration of one's soul. Needless to say, Azula had no interest in seeing if it was true.

Teo was an Explorator, a Tech-Priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus that traveled into the unknown reaches, in search of lost and forgotten technology and secrets. A more recent addition to the ship's crew, the request for his presence abroad the _Phoenix _coming from the Lathes, a trio of neighboring Forge Worlds and the heart of the Mechanicus within the Calixis Sector. Naturally, she accepted what they asked of her. Only the most foolish of Rogue Traders would reject a request from the Mechanicus.

Like all Tech-Priests, it was difficult to determine Teo's exact age due to the extensive bionics within his body. About the only way to determine how old a member of the Mechanicus was by the number of bionics they had. As they grew older and advanced through the ranks of their Priesthood, the Adepts gained more and more mechanical augmentations and implants with the most senior of their order more machine than man. Judging from the visible implants on his body, Teo was younger member of the Mechanicus. Of course, he could just as easily be twice Azula's age.

He wore the red robe of his order, over top of a suit of Carapace armor, the skull and cog emblem of the Adeptus Mechanicus upon the chestplate. On his back was a large metal pack with a folded utility mechadendrite over his left shoulder and a holstered hellpistol on right side of the pack. To support the weight of his pack, Teo's feet and legs were encased in an exoskeleton frame. His two most notable bionics was his right arm which was entirely mechanical from fingers to shoulder, and the respirator unit that replaced his throat and lower face. A pair of gray eyes sat just above the curved metal plate of his respirator. A servo-skull hovered over his right shoulder. In his left hand was an Omnissian axe, a long staff weapon topped with a gear-shaped axe blade and the Mechanicus skull, forming the icon of the Priesthood.

Teo stepped forward, metallic clanking of his leg frames and the tapping of the base of his axe on the ground echoing in hanger. "Captain Azula, I am ready to serve," he said, his mechanical voice created by the vox-synthesizer in his throat.

Surprisingly, despite his voice being entirely artificial, Azula couldn't help but note how cheerful he sounded.

"As am I," Aang added.

Last to arrive were two most recent additions to the _Phoenix's _crew, Katara and Sokka. The two had a rather interesting past. They had been born into a family of servants to the ruling family of Hive World Bront of the Calixis. It was a much, much better life than the one that the countless masses in the lower levels of the Hive Cities. However, it was not to be. At age eleven, Sokka had become the victim of a plot to assassin the firstborn son and heir of the Planetary Governor.

The boy was murdered and Sokka was left to take the blame for something he had no actual part in. While the rest of his family was dismissed to the lower levels of the Hive, a worse fate awaited Sokka. Of course, the Governor desired vengeance against the entire family of 'traitors' and sent men to take care of them. But it seemed that fate or the God-Emperor had other plans for Katara. When the assassins came, she hid and remained unnoticed as they butchered her parents and grandparents. Afterwards, she was found by a member of the Ecclesiarchy who saved her from their bloodstained hovel and sent her to a Schola Progenium on the Hive World of Sigurd IV. As such, Katara grew up in world of faith and devotion to the Immortal Emperor of Man.

Sokka had not been so lucky. He had been sent to the infamous Penal World of Kommitzar. By some small miracle, the boy survived that hell for seven years before an opportunity to escape from it revealed itself. At the time, a massive Ork WAAAGH! was ravaging the subsector and every able body was needed to defend against the threat. Penal Legions were formed and sent on suicide missions against critical targets and in unsupported holding actions against gigantic Ork armies. For nearly six years, he endured the fires of war as he had survived Kommitzar until the Orks had been beaten back. Because of the battles he fought and the simple fact that he had survived, Sokka was pardoned.

For the first time in thirteen years, Sokka was a free man. A free man with a particularly useful set of skills suited for any number of organizations, both legal and illegal. Surprisingly, he turned down easier and more lucrative jobs to become a bounty hunter.

While he had been fighting against criminals and Orks, Katara had been taught and trained to serve the God-Emperor of Mankind and his Imperium with unwavering loyalty. She followed in the footsteps of the man who had saved her from certain death, becoming a Missionary of the Adeptus Ministorum.

Katara was heading into the Koronus Expanse to spread the word of the Emperor to the human worlds that had yet to be graced by the light of the Imperium. She had come to Port Wander, the last stop before the Expanse, looking for passage on ship heading there while Sokka was there to turn in a captured bounty and by pure chance, the two bumped into each other. Despite all the years that had passed, both recognized the other as their long lost sibling.

As their little reunion was happening, Azula herself was seeking out skilled individuals for her personal entourage. Naturally, Katara offered her services if the ship was heading into the Expanse. Azula accepted provided that her brother serves as well. A Missionary trained in combat, medicine as well as the powerful oratory abilities of any good priest of the Ecclesiarchy was a useful addition to the crew. Of course, a warrior honed by years of fighting was even more useful.

Katara's long brown hair was tied into a loose braid behind her back and the pack she wore. The blue eye young woman wore a set of flak armor from the ship's armory underneath her white and dark blue robes, the colors of the Schola Progenium she grew up in. Numerous purity seals, religious icons and pendants adorned her robes, the largest of which was an angelic carving of Saint Drusus, one of the greatest heroes of the Calixis Sector, hanging alongside an Aquila necklace. Overtop of the robes she wore a leather belt and bandoleer with several small tomes and books tied to them as well as a holstered chainsword and autopistol. She held up a walking stick topped with the twin-headed eagle of the Imperium, an open tome bound to its chest, its text praising the God-Emperor while promising a fiery death to the enemies of Man.

Sokka was the largest of them, standing several inches taller than Zuko as well as having more muscle mass than anyone else. The man's dark skin was covered in scars and tattoos, from his days on the Penal World and in the penal regiment. His right hand and half of his forearm had been replaced with a bionic. Sokka's dark brown hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, the words '13th Kommitzar Death Legion' tattooed on his forehead while an unlit lho-stick hung from his mouth. Around his neck was a necklace of large Ork teeth, trophies from career as a penal legionnaire. He wore a carapace chestplate over a full body suit of mesh armor with a grox-leather utility vest on top of the chest piece. There were additional number of holsters and pouches on his wrist and legs, holding various tools and ammo. An unusual obsidian-toothed chainsword hung from his belt, alongside a number of knives of varying sizes. On his back was his modified lasgun while a flamer was hanging from a strap on his shoulder.

He wasn't one to go anywhere without some of his small collection of weapons.

"I don't see why you've asked us to help you loot the grave of thousands of the Emperor servants," Katara coldly said, annoyed at what she was being asked to do.

"It wasn't a request, it was an order," Azula dryly replied. "I'm offering you passage into the Koronus Expanse to spread the word of the Emperor to the unenlightened worlds out there and in exchange, you and your brother help with the various endeavors this ship undertakes. As I said before, if you have a problem with that then I have no problem dropping you off at the next port. You can try your luck there with other captains. But as long as you're on my boat, you obey my rules. Am I clear?"

Katara scowled a little. "Crystal."

At that moment, Sokka raised up his flamer, igniting the pilot flame and using it to light up his lho-stick. "Let's get going already," he grunted, breathing out smoke.

* * *

The small craft soared through the void, maneuvering around the debris with careful precision. While most of the group was in the passenger compartment, Ty Lee, Toph, Teo and Azula sat in the cockpit, manning the various stations. Ahead of them was the heavier field that the _Bounty _was a part of. "Mister Jee," Azula said, opening a vox-channel to the ship. "If you'd be so kind as to clear some of the mess before us."

"_Aye ma'am."_

The _Phoenix's _cannons let loose a barrage, tearing through the debris before them. A path to their prize opened up. There still plenty of obstructions in their path but nothing that Ty Lee couldn't handle.

"I am a leaf on the wind," Ty Lee said, reciting the mantra she always said when she flew, taking them in. "Watch how I soar."

* * *

The void-lock groaned as it slid open, revealing a dimly lit corridor, stale air pouring into the tiny shuttle. Azula's nose wrinkled as the stench of death assaulted her but she had been expecting it. After all, the ship had been adrift in the void for months. Whatever calamity that caused this would have undoubtedly killed the bulk of the crew and those that had survived had likely starved to death in the void of space since. Though there could still be a few survivors aimlessly wandering the ship.

Azula was the first to step onto the deck of the _Emperor's Bounty_, a glow-globe illuminating the area before her. The Writ of Claim demanded no less from her than to be the first to step aboard the vessel. Behind her, came Zuko with his bolter and Sokka with his flamer, both scanning the dark corridor for any signs of danger. There nothing but dust and darkness pierced by a few dim beams of light from the overhead galley-lamps.

One by one, the rest of the guncutter's crew stepped out with Ty Lee the last to exit the vehicle. "Make sure you lock it down Ty Lee," Azula said to the girl. "I don't want some half-mad survivor stealing our only means off the _Bounty_."

"Already done Captain," the pilot replied.

Azula nodded her head before turning to Suki. "Have been able to better sense what's aboard the ship?"

The Astropath shook her head. "It's been bulking my probes, preventing me from getting an accurate sense of it. It's strong… and malignant… and not human…"

Azula tensed up, fearing what it could be. "Is it…"

"It's alien," Suki answered. "That's all I can tell."

The Rogue Trader immediately loosened up. For moment there, she had been afraid that it was something far, far worse any xeno threat. But xenos… well xenos bleed just like everything else.

"Alright then, let's move out," Azula ordered, drawing her laspistol before moving towards were the bridge was. "We don't know what's on board so keep an eye out for anything."

* * *

Their trek through the corridors of the _Bounty_ had been uneventful, encountering only dust and shriveled up corpses. None of the bodies showed any signs of violence or injuries and the examination of several by Katara revealed that likely died from either asphyxiation or a fast-acting airborne toxin. Needless to say, they were all thankful that they were carrying re-breathers. It would give them enough clean air to make it back to the guncutter should the need arise.

After over twenty minutes of walking through dimly lit corridors and small chambers, they finally reached the closed doors to the bridge of the _Emperor's Bounty_. Fortunately, unlike many of the other doors they had passed, there was power going into the chamber and its door. It hadn't been lost on them that while the ship was running on minimal power; a significant amount of said power was flowing into the bridge. Whatever alien creature was the _Bounty_, it was here, on the ship's bridge. Azula didn't have to be a psyker to know that.

"Teo, can you get the door open?" she asked.

The Tech-Priest took a moment to study the control panel on the door. "Easily," he answered. "The atmosphere is stable and there had been no breaches. In fact, the door has merely been closed, not sealed."

"Then open them."

Teo nodded and pressed a button on the panel. The large metal doors slowly slid open, reveal the bridge of the _Emperor's Bounty_. Like the rest of the ship, dust covered the floor, the consoles and the dozens of bodies scattered across the chamber. Slowly and cautiously, they entered the bridge, scanning the room for any threats. But the area was silent and unmoving.

"Hmph. There's nothing here," Sokka scoffed, holstering his lasgun before lighting up another lho-stick. "Just more bodies and moldy servitors."

"No…" Suki uttered, shaking her head vigorously. "It's here."

"She's right," Aang added. "Something is here."

At that moment, a loud, dry grasping sound filled the stale air; the sound of someone taking a breath after holding it for as long as they physically could. Everyone turned to the source of the noise, the Captain's Command Throne. What had first been mistaken for another dusty corpse slumped in the throne was now bending back in the chair, its face looking straight up. Slowly, it straightened up, bringing its head down and staring at the group with its dead eyes. It was the ship's Navigator, but his third eye was covered by a metallic worm-thing.

"Die…" he rasped after a few seconds of silently watching them.

Suddenly, the doors to the bridge slammed shut. The main doors as well as all of the other portals in and out of the bridge sealed completely, cutting the chamber off from the rest of the ship. But that wasn't the only thing that was happening. As the doors sealed themselves, the worm on the Navigator's head began to glow with crimson energy. Then once the last portal was sealed, twisting cords of warp energy snaked out of the tiny device, dancing over the dead.

A corpse began to twitch and within moments, it started to pull itself up to its feet, quickly joined by another and another and another. They climbed off the ground, some pulled themselves out of control pits while others and servitors literally tore themselves from the stations that they had been hardwired to. All of the walking dead were moving towards them from all sides.

"Ah hell," Sokka cursed as he grabbed his flamer. "I just had to open my mouth."

* * *

The big inspiration for this story was the Rogue Trader pen and paper game, which I received as a gift earlier in the summer. I love the Warhammer 40k universe, especially the Rogue Trader. There's just something about the freedom they within the Imperium that I really love. Some time after getting it, this mental image of Azula as a Rogue Trader. Which was really odd as I completely dismissed the idea of an Avatar/40k crossover prior to that. But it stuck in my head and I began to expand idea, developing her personal entourage, other Avatar characters in the various career paths available in the game. The hardest of which was finding someone to be an Explorator. I had briefly considered having Aang as that, but I felt he was better suited as a psyker, specifically a Navigator. Of the other main characters, none seemed. Then I remember Teo, the Mechanist's son and realized that he was ideally suited to be an Explorator.

Anyone familiar with Rogue Trader will probably recognize that the Emperor's Bounty and the adventure involving it from the downloadable preview adventure from the website of Fantasy Flight Games, the publisher of the Rogue Trader game. If I did turn this into a story, it would be a collection of adventures, both from the premade ones that they offer and ones of my own creation.

Finally, my next couple of story ideas won't be crossovers with Warhammer Fantasy or Warhammer 40,000, though I do have ideas for more of such crossovers.


	3. A Strange New World

Yo everybody! Another idea up and like I said in the last one, it isn't a crossover. This particular AU is a merging of a number of story ideas that all have the same core idea. The idea is what if Aang had been frozen for not a hundred or so years but rather hundreds of years, to the point where the world has become radically different from the world he had known. In this version and most of the other versions I have in my head, the other core Avatar characters are alive in this time rather than when they did in the canon.

I'll save the rest of my explanation for after the story.  


* * *

"_So what are we going to do with him?"_

"_I don't know. He was frozen in the ice for who knows how long; by all rights he should be dead."_

"_But where did he come from? What are those marks on his body? And what about his clothes? I've never seen anything like them. But the colors… those colors are definitely from the Air-"_

Aang let out a groan as he awakened from his slumber. He blinked his eyes, trying to shake the grogginess from his body. The boy looked up at source of voices. In his blurred vision, he could see two people clad in what appeared to be heavy furs. "Where am I?" he rasped, his throat surprisingly dry.

"We're in the South Pole. My brother and I found you frozen in a chuck of ice," a female voice replied as one of the figures approached. "Here, have some water."

A hand slid up against his back, lifting him. The opening of a water skin was offered to him which Aang greedily guzzled down, almost choking on the water. As he drank, his vision cleared and he found himself staring at someone that while dressed akin to the people of the Southern Water Tribe, she was clearly not a member of those people. Her long black hair tied into a ponytail, pale skin and amber eyes marked her as one of the Fire Nation.

"What… Why are you here in the South Pole?" Aang blurted out.

The girl gave him a puzzled looked. "What are you talking about?" she replied. "Why wouldn't I be living here? I was born here."

"But… but you're from the Fire Nation."

The bewildered girl shook her head. "The Fire Nation? The Fire Nation hasn't existed in a long time."

Aang's eye widened in shock, a terrible feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. "What? Wha…what happened to it?" he asked, afraid of what he was going to hear.

"Like you don't know Air Nation boy," another voice interrupted.

An older teen approached the two. Like the girl, he was unmistakably from the people of the Fire Nation that Aang had known. Pale sink, amber eyes and messy black hair, but there was also a red tattoo around his left eye in the shape of the head of some kind of hound.

"Zuko-"

"No Azula!" the teen, Zuko said, cutting off her protests. "He's not from here that means he's with the Alliance! If he stays here, he'll bring the slavers down on us!"

"If they find his frozen body out there, it will bring the soldiers of the Alliance to make an example of us! Like Father!" Azula shot back. "Maybe if you actually used your head once and awhile, you'd realize that!"

"I'm sorry for any trouble I may have caused you but please, not of this makes any sense to me," Aang said, raising his hands, trying to stop the arguing teens and desperate for answers. "Before my accident, there were four nations in the world, the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes, the Fire Nation and the Air Nomads."

Once again, he received looks of confusion. "Water… Tribes? Air Nomads? I've never heard of those places," Azula answered. "But the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation existed hundreds of years ago."

'_Hundreds of years ago…'_ Aang thought, the words echoing through his mind.

Had it really been that long? It couldn't be. Aang thought back what happened before he woke up. He and Appa had been traveling south when they had been caught in a thunderstorm. Appa ended up crashing into sea. Aang could remember going under the water but after that, nothing. "Hundreds of years ago…" he uttered in disbelief. "But… but that's impossible…"

Then it occurred to him. Everyone he had ever known, Bumi, Kuzon, Gyatso, everyone, was long dead. "What year is it?" he demanded, already knowing the answer deep down.

"567 AC," Azula replied.

"AC?"

Azula nodded her head. "Alliance Calendar," she explained. "It started the year the Grand Alliance of Air, Earth and Water was founded, though it was officially adopted years later."

Aang began to gasp for breath, the weight of everything suffocating him. "What year is it in SC?"

The girl placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're hyperventilating," she said. "Calm down."

Somehow, Aang managed to calm himself down, slowing his breathing. "The old calendar! What year is it in the old calendar?" he insisted.

Azula shook her head. "I'm… not sure. It hasn't been used in ages," she admitted. "How long were you in that ice?"

"I don't know…" Aang said, hanging his head in despair.

* * *

Several hours had passed since the boy they had found in the ice had awakened. The siblings had plied him with questions as best as they could. Aang had answered them as best as he could. Now, the elders of their tribe had called a meeting to discuss what to do with him.

The meeting was a rather simple affair within the central hall of their settlement. Both Zuko and Azula stood before the assembled elders, explaining what the boy had told them. Once they were done, the leaders of their people silently pondered everything for a time before speaking.

"What have you learned from the boy?" Qin, the leader of their settlement asked.

"He claims to have been frozen in the ice for hundreds of years," Zuko answered.

"And you believe this?" the older man asked, stroking his beard.

Zuko shook his head. "No."

"Maybe," his younger sister admitted.

Everyone looked at her in surprise. "If he was a part of some Alliance plot, why create such an outrageous story? No one in their right mind would believe it," Azula explained.

Zuko shook his head. "No one could survive for hundreds of years buried in ice."

"No one could survive being frozen in ice period. Not even with the technology of the Alliance," she pointed out. "Only the power of the spirits could preserve his life."

There were mummers from the elders as they whispered amongst themselves. Qin raised his hand, silencing his fellows. "Take him to the Diviner," he proclaimed. "If he is telling the truth, she will reveal it. If he is lying, kill him."

* * *

Aang blinked his eyes rapidly, adjusting to the brightness of the sun as he and the two siblings that had been caring for him. All around him were various huts and crude buildings made from large animal bones and hides. The village was surrounded in a wall of snow with gates made of scavenged scrap metal and sentries standing guard atop walls with strange pole weapons of wood and metal. And mingling around the structures were dozens of people, going about their daily lives. It wasn't lost on the young airbender that despite their attire and their homes, they all bore the physical traits of people from the Fire Nation. "Where are you taking me?" he asked, thankful that they had given him some of heavier clothes to wear.

"To see someone special," Azula replied. "She'll be able to help you."

"Really?" the younger boy asked, hoping that there truly was something that he could do.

"Yes," Zuko grunted, holding another of the unusual weapons in his hands. "Now let's get moving."

His sister nodded and they lead Aang outside of the village, heading south-east for what was either small mountain range or a collection of immobile glaciers covered in snow. They had been marching through the snow for a good ten minutes when there was a loud animal bellow from above. The trio looked up as a large, six-legged beast soared overhead before landing in front of the teens.

"What is that thing?" an awestruck Azula asked.

"How can something that big fly?" her brother added, disbelieving what he had just witnessed.

"APPA!" Aang cheered, rushing his beloved companion's side and hugging the great beast's face. "It's good to see you again boy!"

Appa responded by giving the boy a friendly lick with its tongue. After everything that happened to Aang today, it felt unbelievably good to see an old face again.

"What is that?" the lone girl of the group repeated.

Aang turned to her, a big grin plastered on his face. "It's my friend, Appa. He's a Sky Bison," he said, feeling better than he had all day.

"A Sky Bison?"

"They're what the Air No-I mean people of the Air Nation fly on," Aang explain, patting Appa.

Zuko shook his head. "No, they don't," he replied. "The People of Air have a wide array of flying machines from simple gliders that children play to their mighty Flying Fortress-Cities from which they rule the skies from."

Aang was stunned… no, horrified by the news. His people no longer flew on the Sky Bison… It was inconceivable. They had lived with the Bison for countless generations. The only thing that could be more outrageous than that would be to claim that his people were no longer airbenders. "No Sky Bison…" he uttered.

"We've never even here of them," Azula admitted.

Once again since he had woken up in this bizarre, mad world, Aang wished that he had never decided to fly south.

After a short ride on Appa, they had arrived at a smaller village at a base of one of the mountains. Armed warriors stood guard in the camp and the cave opening that was at the end of the settlement. Nearly all of those people that weren't standing guard were engaged in warrior training. "Who are they?" Aang asked as they descended to land.

"The Warrior Cult of the Diviner," Azula replied. "Of the tribes, they are the most unique among us all. They are men and women who swear a life of duty, giving everything they had, to serve and protect our spiritual leader. The woman you're going to meet."

As they landed before the village, warriors began to approached them, holding up halberds made of animal bones and teeth. One by one the three of them climbed off Appa. All of the warriors looked ready to strike them at a moment's notice. A man took a step towards them. "Who are you and why have you come?" the warrior demanded.

Zuko bowed his head. "I am Zuko of Tribe Ignis, nephew of General Iroh," he greeted. "And this is my sister, Azula."

"The boy?"

"He is why we are he," the teen answered. "His name is Aang. My sister and I found him frozen in ice. Our tribe elders asked us to bring him to the Diviner in search of answers."

The warrior turned to Aang, scrutinizing him intently. The young airbender nervously gulped under his powerful gaze. "Very well," he finally said. "We will take you to the Diviner."

With that, a handful of the warriors escorted through their meager village and into the cave beyond it. The walls of the cave were lined with ice and caved into the ice were images of men, women, animals and figures that were neither man nor beast. Eventually the winding passage led to large, perfectly round chamber of ice that oddly enough, was not cold at all. The carvings continued into the room as great statues of ice. At the end opposite the entrance was a massive stalactite upon which hung a seemingly sleeping dark haired woman. All she wore was a simple white cloth only just covered her nakedness while chains bound her wrists and ankles to the rock. Below her, in the center of the floor was a raised platform of stone inscribed with all manner of runes and symbols. Just as with the village, halberd carrying warriors stood guard alongside a handful of men and women in robes of white trimmed with gold.

"Who is she?" Aang asked, staring up at the hanging woman in awe as they entered the chamber.

"We don't know exactly. She was born just over three hundred years ago and her name has been lost since then," a robed man answered. "Back then was one of the truly darkest times for us but she changed all of that, sacrificing herself to bring the light of hope to our people. She is now neither alive nor dead, neither human nor spirit. And she is our blessed leader. We call her the Diviner."

"So what do I do?"

"Just stand there on the altar," the man instructed, pointing to the platform.

Cautiously, Aang stepped onto the platform, unsure as to what to expect. "Here?"

The man simply nodded before signaling to his fellows. As one, the others began to chant in another language, one that Aang had never heard before. "Oh Great Diviner, hear the pleas of your kin," their leader said, beseeching the bound woman. "We wish to know of the one before us. He claims have been frozen since ancient times. But he could be deceiving us, a trick by our enemies. Please Great Diviner; reveal the truth of this boy."

Aang looked up at the woman as her eyes opened. Staring back at him were not human eyes but rather twin orbs of bluish-white energy. Her body surged forward, pulling on the chains. Six wings of light emerged from her back, joined by a glowing halo. "_**You… you are young yet impossibly ancient…**_" she proclaimed, a male and female voice speaking together in unison. "_**You are the fire and the ice… The rock and the wind… You are the ageless walker of both worlds… The infinite shinning light for mortal and spirit alike… You are the eternal balancer of the world… The one to restore the order of the world… The one to relearn the lost Arts… The one to return the Children of Agni to their proper place… You… are… the… Avatar…**_"

As quickly as it began, it ended. The Diviner closed her eyes, her halo and wings disappearing as she fell back to her previous position against the hanging stone.

"Avatar… He is truly real," someone uttered.

"Our savoir has come at last," another added.

Aang could only watch in silence as everyone, even Zuko who had been suspicious of him from the moment they met, knelt down before him reverence.

Time seemed to move at a rapid pace for Aang. He was ushered out of the cave, only to find that word of what had been revealed had spread ahead of him and all of the warriors in the village had gathered before the cave entrance, bowing before him as he emerged with the others.

Aang knew full well that he was the Avatar; something had never wanted to be. That was why he ran away in the first place. Now, because of that single decision he was hundreds of years into the future, in a world that no longer made any sense to him.

He never should have run away…

* * *

Zuko and Azula, along with a group of the warriors had escorted Aang back to the village he had woken up in. There waiting for them were the elders of the village. Before anyone could ask anything of the group, the leader of the warriors announced what the Diviner had said. The reaction was immediate. People began to cheer, praising Aang for finally coming to free, some beseeched him to bless their children or their entire families, and others just knelt down in reverence. Aang found it all overwhelming.

Mercifully, the elders and the warriors quickly herded him away from the crowd and into the village hall. There Aang found himself sitting, surrounded by the elders and the siblings. For what seemed like eternity, there was nothing but silence. Zuko was the first to speak, prostrating himself before the boy. "Forgive me Avatar," he solemnly said. "Had I known, I never would have acted the way I did to you."

"I… There's no need to apologize Zuko," Aang replied, still overwhelmed by how he was being treated.

One of the older men cleared his throat. "I am Qin, leader of this settlement," he said. "I imagine that you have a number of questions Avatar."

"Yes. This isn't the world I came from," Aang replied. "Before I was frozen, there were four nations, the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe and Air Nomads. But now…"

Qin nodded his head in understanding. "The four ancient nations from your time have long ceased to be and have been replaced by new nations. Aside from the South Pole, the world is controlled by the Twin Water Empires, the Earth Republic and the Four Air Nations which are united in the Grand Alliance of Air, Earth and Water."

Aang wasn't sure what surprised him more, the changing of the nations he had known or that three of them were united together. But surprise wasn't the only thing that he was feeling. A sense of dread began to fill him as he wondered why only _three_ of the four nations were a part of this alliance. "What about you? What about the Fire Nation?" he asked.

"The People of Fire are a scattered and hated people, the lowest of the low," an elderly woman answered. "Most of us live among the other nations as slaves. Only where in the South Pole are we free; save for when the slavers come for more people."

"H-How… how did this happen?" the airbender stuttered, unable to believe what he had heard. Slaves? There were slaves in this world? It was monstrous! Barbaric! Surely the descendants of his own people would never support such atrocities.

"There are two tales of the great war and how our world came to be, the Alliance's and ours. Both start the same way, long ago a Lord of Fire started a war that grew to consume all corners of the world," Qin said. "The People of Air, Earth and Water united against the People of Fire. It would be the precursor to the Alliance of today. For over a century, countless atrocities were committed by both sides in their attempts to achieve a final victory. In the end, one of the Lord of Fire's successors committed a crime so terrible; the Celestial Spirits of the World became enrage."

His words sent Aang reeling. Before he ran away, Aang had overheard the rumors that the Fire Nation was becoming more aggressive and that a war could break out. Aang shook his head, realizing that a war had started and because he had fled from his duties as Avatar.

"It is here that the stories diverge," another elder added. "The Alliance claims that they punished all humans for their savagery, striping us of the ability to bend the elements."

"What? You mean no one can bend anymore?" Aang exclaimed, his face turning white.

"Yes. The ancient Art of Bending is lost to us all," Qin said. "They say that it was the punishment that we must all bear for our past sins. But the Alliance also believes that we bore much greater sins than all others and were further cursed by the Spirits. They claimed that all of the Children of Fire were forever marked as the worse of Man; selfish, treacherous, savage people that have no place among the civilized world. The Spirits cast us out from our homes into the barren wastes of the frozen south."

"And the rulers of the Alliance think that they're granting us a great mercy by enslaving our people," Zuko spat in disgust.

There was a mummer of agreement from many of the elders. "Our version claims that the war was not in the bloody stalemate as the Alliance speaks of, rather our ancestors were on the verge of victory when the great crime occurred and that the Spirits only stripped us of our firebending," Qin explained. "This allowed the other nations to win the war, but in their zeal and anger, they committed terrible acts against their defeated enemies, even against those that we utterly innocent. Their actions further horrified and angered the Spirits and in retaliation, they stripped all of their ability to bend. However, they didn't banish the People of Fire to the South Pole or proclaim them to be the worst of Man. That was the Alliance. They blamed us for everything, including their own crimes. We became the villains of the entire world."

"We accept that our ancestors committed terrible sins. But we believe that the crimes of the father are not the crimes of the son," the visibly oldest of them spoke, his voice quiet and rasping.

"Unfortunately, it is impossible to say which, if either is true," a woman spoke.

"For centuries, we struggled under the ever watchful eye and lash of the Alliance. Whenever our society started to approach their level or even just try to organize our scattered tribes into a cohesive group, their armies descend on us and destroy everything that we accomplish with their powerful technology," Qin explained, his voice laden with sorrow. "Those who are taken north exist solely as slaves, working in mines and fields, constructing their cities and their monuments. The blood and sweat of our people are the grease of great machine that is the Alliance."

Aang felt sick to his stomach with pain and guilt. Everything had gone so very, very wrong and all because he had abandoned his responsibilities.

"But then the Diviner was born," Qin spoke, his demeanor quickly changing to one of elation. "Even at an early age, she was clearly marked by the spirits. As she grew older, she began to commune with lesser spirits, beseeching them to help her people. Eventually a few began to help her tribe, from aiding them in hunting animals for food to warning the people of approaching storms to helping their warriors protect against slavers. Soon more spirits were drawn to her and her people. The Diviner began to teach others her ways and our Spiritual Arts. For the first time in generations, we could stand against the technological superiority of the Alliance. We could win back our freedom."

"The Diviner traveled from tribe to tribe, spreading her teachings. Soon, some of her finest pupils allowed themselves to be captured by slavers so they spread her teachings to all our kin across the world," another elder added. "All of this was done in secret, lest the Alliance learn of our actions. It took several decades, but eventually our resistance against the Alliance was born. For over two hundred years, we have struggled against our oppressors. We have endured much hardship, but with the blessings of the spirits we know that we will earn our freedom."

The shame Aang felt was temporally pushed aside as questions about the Diviner and these 'Spiritual Arts'. "I don't understand. What are these Spiritual Arts?"

"Suppose that we should start at the beginning," the eldest said. "It is said that when all bending was taken from man, a great emptiness settled in the hearts of the people as though more than just bending was taken from us. Many desperate people sought out ways to restore bending or at least filling the emptiness. Within the nations of the Alliance, technology became that replacement. It gave them solace and their nations have prospered greatly ever since."

"But not your people," Aang commented, already realizing the answer.

"Yes," Qin nodded. "Our people lingered within that emptiness for generations. As we said before, that changed when the Diviner was born. Through her, we developed a connection to the myriad of spirits."

"But how exactly? And what are the Spiritual Arts you keep on speaking of?" Aang asked, still not understanding things.

Qin turned to the siblings. "Zuko, Azula, show him," the elder ordered.

Zuko was first, holding his hands together with his index and middle fingers pointing up, closing his left eye. As soon as his eyelids closed, the tattoo on his face began to glow. An orb of energy leapt from the mark, falling to the ground. But before it landed, it became a ghostly hound. Zuko patted the spirit animal's head as it sat down next to him.

Azula rolled up her sleeves, revealing twin tattoos of dragons coiled around her skin. She held up her arms and fire emerged on the marks on her arms. At the same time, fires were burning within her eyes. The fires on her arms continued to grow yet did not burn her in the slightest until they covered her arms entirely. With a flick of her wrists, the fires died down. The arms had changed, the skin becoming covered in crimson scales with clawed nails and fires still burning on the backs of hands, traveling up her arms. Azula closed her eyes. As she held them shut, the fires died completely while the claws and scales faded away.

"That… that is amazing," Aang commented, studying both teens intently.

"Their power is derived from the spirits they have made pacts with," Qin said. "Zuko is a Summoner while Azula is a Host. Summoners are warriors that will seek out spirits, both in this world and in the Spirit World. They will approach the spirit and offering a pledge to it. If the spirit accepts the pledge then they will spill a bit of their blood, mixing it together into the ink that is used to create the marks that bind man and spirit. The warrior can then call the spirit to them to aid them when they need it. Hosts are similar in nature. Like Summoners, they seek out spirits but instead of making pledges with spirits, they offer their bodies as temporary homes to the spirits. They form a symbiotic relationship. The spirit is able to move more freely in our world than they would normally, if they were able to at all while the human is able to draw on powers and abilities of the spirit."

"Are there other kinds of people like them?" the young airbender asked.

Another elder nodded. "Yes. There are also Shamans, Channelers and Shapers," she answered. "All born from the Five Arts that Diviner created."

"But how did the Diviner end up like is now?"

"One day, she asked that a shrine be constructed within the mountain. Once it was completed, she entered the shrine alone and conducted a ritual that has never been done before or since. When it was done, she had completely merged with an ancient and powerful spirit, the first spirit to help her. They became a singular begin, the Diviner as we know her now."

"But why?"

"None can say," Qin replied. "But what of you, Avatar? The legends say that you could humble even the greatest of kings and the mightiest of spirits with your power over the four elements."

Aang hesitated for a moment. "Well… you see, the Avatar is mortal like everyone else but everything the Avatar dies, they're reincarnated into a new person. But… they have to relearn how to bend the four elements in order to become a full Avatar. And unfortunately…" Aang paused again, struggling to find the right words. "Unfortunately at the moment, I've only learned airbending… I'm sorry but with no more benders in the world, I don't know how I will learn the other elements."

The hope that filled the eyes of everyone around when they learn who he was dimmed and despair seemed to creep into many. The sounds of whispers and mummers filled the room. The oldest of the elders raised his wizened hand, drawing silence from his fellows. "Perhaps not all hope is lost," he said. "One of our greatest heroes, General Iroh is said to have spoken with many ancient spirits during his countless journeys into the Spirit World. He might be able to guide you to spirits that can help."

Qin raked his fingers through his bread. "There are few man that know as much about spirits as Iroh. But what would you do once you achieved mastery over all four elements?"

Aang didn't need any time to think about his answer. "This world has suffered terribly while I was asleep and it has become something that should never have been allowed to be," he replied. "The people of the Four Nations are supposed to equal to one another, living in peace together. It's my duty to restore the balance and bring back a truth peace to the world. And I give you my word; I will free all your people from slavery."

* * *

Now as I said, this is a mingling of story ideas that have the same root, the world changing radically while Aang sleeps. One story featured a world were war turned against the Fire Nation, with them being defeated and basically enslaved by the other nations. Another were bending, spirits and the Avatar had become the thing of myth and legend while technology had advanced quite rapidly, creating a steampunk kind of world. And of course, a number of other rough ideas were also thrown together it as I first began to combine them into a single story rather several separate ones.

Oh and before someone shouts, 'You swapped Zuko and Azula with Sokka and Katara!' or something like that, a little yes but not truly. Yes, in the beginning Aang would be traveling with the Fire siblings while the Water siblings would be among the early antagonists. But in the outline I came up with in my head, they'd end up joining Aang about a third of the way through. And the Gaang would be this mixture of the tech-oriented characters from the Alliance nations and the mystical-powered characters of the Resistance, which wouldn't just be Fire Nation characters. Also, the weapons that Zuko and the village sentries had were rifles. Aang just didn't know what they were because obviously they didn't exist in his time.

My only regret about this chapter was that I couldn't really show off the more unusual and interesting technology of the Alliance. You see, when I first began to work on this in late August, I had this idea of showing Aang (and the readers) the technology of this world gradually over the first half a dozen or so chapters, showing as they traveled from the southern edges of Earth Republic, from small villages and settlements to larger towns to finally one of the nation's major cities, home to all manner of machines and devices.

Finally, feel free to post any comments on these ideas.


	4. Origins of the Vampires

_It was during the early reign of Avatar Lin of the Earth Kingdom that Nagash, an Earth Priest of the Kingdom of Nehekhara began his rise to infamy. While he was incredibly ambitious and desired power, he was graced with an understanding that few have ever processed. For he knew that no matter how much power he acquired; ultimately death would claim him and rob him of everything had achieved. As such, he dedicated himself to unlocking the mysteries of death to achieve immortality._

_None know how exactly he acquired the foundation of his dark knowledge. Some say that he stole ancient forbidden tomes and scrolls from the Library of__Wan Shi Tong. Others claim that he created his dark art entirely on his own, using only his incredible intelligence. A few whisper that he had somehow captured powerful spirits and tortured them for their knowledge of life and death._

_Regardless of how, after nearly forty years Nagash had become the first and most terrible of Necromancers._

_With his mastery of death, Nagash began his plans to conquer Nehekhara then the rest of the Earth Kingdom before finally the entire world. At first it began with a simple act, the assassination of Nehekhara's King and his family, placing the blame on the High Priest of Nehekhara's Earth Temple. With both men dealt with, Nagash proclaimed himself the Priest-King of Nehekhara._

_While there were many who were displeased by this, there were few arguments against his ascension especially after he proved himself to be an effective and efficient ruler. Bandits were slain or forced out of Nehekhara, taxes were collected and sent to Ba Sing Se earlier than any other city or province in the Earth Kingdom and after just two years of his rule, Nehekhara was the most prosperous province of the entire nation._

_But all of them were deceived, for Nagash had spent that time preparing for war._

_It started with a plague that decimated the Earth Kingdom. As the rest of the nation struggled with the epidemic, the armies of Nagash invaded. But they were not armies of living beings…_

_They were armies of the undead._

_Legions of long dead skeletons, hordes of shambling corpses, hosts of enslaved souls to name a few among the countless horrors and nightmares that marched to Nagash's banner. All of them led by Nagash and his necromancers._

_The armies of the Earth Kingdom quickly rallied against this threat, but were ill-prepared to face an army that didn't tire or need sustenance, that did not know fear or pain, that grew with every casualty they suffered against it. Even with the power of Avatar Lin aiding them, the Earth Armies were slowly being ground down while Nagash's Legions swelled._

_Eventually, the Avatar pleaded for the other Nations to aid the Earth Kingdom before Nagash's ever growing armies turned their attention to them. The leaders of the Water Tribes, the Air Nomads and the Fire Nation all agreed, sending their armies to help the besieged Earth Kingdom. Out of all of the Nations, the Fire Nation proved to be the most effective; their firebenders incinerating scores of undead, reducing them to ashes._

_With Avatar Lin leading the Four Nations against Nagash, the fortunes of the war turned in their favor. The seemingly unstoppable undead stalled, their endless numbers cut down._

_However, it was not enough. For every foot of ground that was reclaimed by the Four Nations, hundreds died. The horrible attrition of the war was taking its toll. Unless Nagash himself could defeat quickly, the four armies would shatter and be overrun by the walking dead._

_But the Avatar had a plan. Gathering up nearly every soldier left in the armies, they drove into the lines of the undead as one massive army, drawing in the bulk of Nagash's forces. As the two great armies clashed, the Avatar and some of the best fighters and benders of the Four Nations attacked Nehekhara's capital directly._

_It was said that the battle between Nagash and the Avatar was so great, so terrible, that when Nagash finally died and the battle ended, all that remained of Nehekhara was a barren, desolate land, marred by a vast rent in the earth. The Great Divide as it is called now._

_With their leader gone, most of the undead collapsed, returning to their original state. The surviving necromancers fled. Some escaped, most didn't._

_But this would not be Nagash's final end, for too great had his power grown. True death could no longer claim him. His body was killed but his soul endured, resting within the darkest corners of the Spirit World until he could return, sparking a second Undead War. Many necromancer and scholars of the occult whisper that Nagash's power has become so great that he is now the God of Undeath itself._

_Worse, a new undead terror would be born from the ashes of Nehekhara; for unbeknownst to the Avatar and much of the Four Nations, one of the Kings who had come with him for the final battle had betrayed him in the most horrible of ways. In Avatar Lin's plan, only he would battle Nagash while the others would have other specific roles. He had tasked the Fire Lord and his men with the task of ensuring that Nagash's library was completely destroyed, erasing his terrible art. The Fire Lord did not._

_The lure of immortality was too great._

_He took a number of tomes and scrolls from the library before destroying it, including one of the dreaded Nine Books of Nagash, the tomes containing the vast knowledge he acquired during his decades of creating the Art of Necromancy._

_Once the war ended and the Fire Lord returned home, he and his wife gathered the best scholars, sages and alchemists of the Fire Nation giving them the task of studying the works of Nagash and find the secret to immortality._

_Many went mad from reading those accursed pages, but in the end, they succeeded. Their creation was called the Elixir of Life. According to the text, it would grant the drinker ageless immortality. However, none were sure if it was true as Nagash himself had been slain by the Avatar._

_With her vanity and arrogance, the Fire Lord's wife could not resist waiting any longer. She consumed the Elixir without any hesitation. Over the following days, the Fire Lady went through a startling transformation. Food and drink no longer satisfied her. Sunlight, what had once provided her with strength now drained her terribly, forcing her into the night. She no longer needed air in her lungs and her heart stopped beating, yet she did not die. Finally, an unnatural hunger filled her. A hunger for blood._

_She had become the first Vampire._

_She was immortal, her beauty preserved for all time._

_But she would not be the only one._

_Her husband and ten others within their court drank the Elixir, becoming the first Vampire Lords._

_These undead nobles created a secret, deathless court that ruled the Fire Nation from the shadows as they fed on their subjects like they were little more than cattle. The Fire Lord and his wife even took new names, from an ancient Fire Nation dialect that was used in the time of Agni. Vashanesh, the Deathless One, and Neferata, the Queen of the Night._

_Remarkably, it was not until the time of Avatar Yuan of the Air Nomads that their true nature was discovered._

_When the truth was learned, the Fire Nation descended into civil war. General Zhen, a famed hero of the Fire Nation, rose up against the Vampire Court, rallying many of his nation's people against the undead lords. However, many more were too afraid of their masters or had fallen under their sway with promises of riches, glory, and even immortality._

_Worse though, they had spent years with the writings of Nagash, learning the Art of Necromancy, further bolstering their forces with the bodies of the fallen._

_But Zhen had the Avatar and the other Nations, who still remembered the horrors of Nagash and his undead legions from two hundred years earlier._

_Mercifully, this war was short, with the vampires and their armies forced back into their capital within months. However, they had long since prepared for a lengthy siege. And the Avatar knew that the longer the siege lasted, the more likely that they would escape into the shadows to rise again one day._

_With a heavy heart, Avatar Yuan destroyed the entire city, sending it to the bottom of the sea with the mighty power of the Avatar._

_But it was in vain, for they endured, scattering to the night. Planning and plotting. Some of them tried to rebuild their kingdoms in other lands. But they failed. Others foolishly pledged themselves to Nagash after he returned and started his second war against the living. They either died or fled once he had been beaten by the Avatar again. A few disappeared all together, secluding themselves in the far corners of the world, honing their abilities and waiting for their chance for vengeance._

_Of the original twelve Lords, five did not escape the former capital in time and were slain. Two have disappeared into the mists of time, their fates unknown. The remaining five passed on their gifts to others through the Blood Kiss, creating the Five Bloodlines. However, those born through this method were weaker than their creators and more susceptible to the things that can harm a vampire which grew with each successive generation. Only the Elixir of Life can create a true Vampire Lord._

_Of the five surviving Lords, Ushoran, the so-called Lord of Masks, fled to the mountainous and remote northern lands of the Earth Kingdom. He and his followers came upon the distant kingdom of Strigos. Within a few decades, Ushoran and his children were in control of the kingdom, ruling it from the shadows. Ushoran had learned from the mistakes they made when they ruled the Fire Nation and sought not to repeat them. He created a cult where the people venerated their immortal lords as deities, offering up human sacrifices from among their captured enemies from rival kingdoms, slaves and criminals to them to feed upon. This provided them with a constant supply of blood and ensured that none of the people of their kingdom would rise up in fear against them._

_Pleased with new kingdom, Ushoran sent envoys to his brethren, offering them a place within his court. But none accepted the arrogant king's request. For each of them had created their own realms and had no desire to be ruled over by another._

_However, while Ushoran's Strigos would last for several centuries, it would ultimately fall during the Great Unification War, which would turn all of the Earth Kingdoms into provinces under the supreme rule of King Sekken of Ba Sing Se. Many kingdoms, including Strigos, resisted and fought long, bloody wars against the armies of Ba Sing Se and their allies. But one by one, they fell or capitulated to the growing Earth Kingdom until only Strigos remained._

_While Strigos had been safe up until then by distance and terrain, with no other Kingdoms to conquer the armies of Sekken marched north to Strigos. By that time, Vampires had faded into the mists of legends and fables and none had realized just what ruled Strigos._

_Ushoran sent out Strigos's army to slow down the vast army of Sekken. While they stood no chance of winning, the army of Strigos used their vast knowledge of the terrain to their advantage, ambushing elements of the Earth King's armies. It was successful but only as a delaying action. Soon, Sekken's armies stood outside the walls of Mourkain, the capital of Strigos._

_For a month, the warriors of Strigos led by their Vampire masters battled the invaders, culminating in a duel between King Sekken and Ushoran atop the ramparts of Mourkain. As powerful as the Vampire Lord was, he was ultimately slain by the single greatest King the people of Earth have ever known._

_With Ushoran destroyed, Sekken's men laid razed the city to the ground. Strigos was divided up amongst its neighbors and most of its human population enslaved. But not all of them became slaves, many fled south becoming nomadic gypsies, mistrusted and despised by others for reasons that have long since become forgotten._

_Many of Ushoran's Court survived the fall of their kingdom, seeking refuge from their kin in other parts of the world. However, the other Vampire Lords had not forgotten the arrogance of Ushoran. They offered no sanctuary for their once arrogant kin. Instead, they rejected their pleas and set their minions on them._

_The children of Ushoran were shunned and cast out in the gutters, fearful of being discovered and hunted by humans as well as their own kind while hating everyone and everything else around them. They, the once proud lords of Strigos, were no little more than scavengers, living in tombs and graveyards, drinking the blood of the recently deceased. Years upon years of living like that have transformed them, turning the once noble men and women into bestial monsters of unending hatred that stalk the night._

_Many of the Strigoi vampires walk the line between man and beast, granting many of them far greater transformative powers than their kin while others have become a monstrous fusion of the two. Though this has given them a formidable physical strength and resiliency, it has cursed more than a few of them with madden or feral minds; driven by the hunger, the instinct to survive and pure hatred of all things not Strigoi._

_The Second Bloodline is the Blood Dragons, a loose cult of undead warriors dedicated to honor, glory and battle. Their story begins with their founder, Abhorash, Captain of the Royal Guard during the reign of Vashanesh. Abhorash was an unparalleled warrior of the Fire Nation. So great was his ability, that he overcame his humble origins to join and later lead a group that had up until that point, been made of the sons of nobility, not mere commoners. He was a hero among the common people of the Fire Nation. To them, he was an honorable knight that had grown up as they did and was at heart, one of them._

_However, whether through luck or misfortune, he had attracted the interest of Neferata. One night she offered him what appeared to be a cup of wine. But from the instant the cup touched his lips, his fate was sealed. For what he drank was not wine but the Elixir of Life._

_The noble warrior fought long and hard against the thirst for blood but in the end, he succumbed. In a single, bloody night, he slaughtered and drained twelve before his rational mind returned to him. Upon seeing what he had done in his blood-madness, Abhorash fled the capital, vowing to find a way to control his thirst. For several years, he stayed on the fringe of the Fire Nation, feeding off bandits and criminals as he sought control._

_Eventually, through his iron will and marshal strength, Abhorash reached a point where his thirst was contained and control though still ever present. He returned to the capital and became an unwavering enforcer of law and order. Those who defied the laws were quickly dispatched and fed upon him and his guard. Even those within the Court feared incurring his wrath, save for his Lord and Lady of course._

_When war began, Abhorash led the armies of Vashanesh against Zhen and the Avatar. On the battlefield he was a force of nature, striking down hundreds of soldiers with his supernatural strength and agility. But even with all of his might, he could not turn back the armies that were aligned against them. As the Avatar began to sink the city, Abhorash and his warriors charged through the besieging lines of the armies surrounding them. They tore the soldiers that tried to stop them, escaping destruction into the wildness._

_After that, they became a band of traveling warriors, seeking formidable opponents to test their mettle against as they continued to hone their deadly craft._

_One night, Abhorash scaled a mountain that was home to a lone dragon and challenged the mighty beast. For a night and a day, they fought within the dragon's cave. But in the end, the vampire slew the dragon and at his moment of triumph, Abhorash bit into the dragon's neck and drank its blood._

_At that moment, Abhorash had found what he had always sought; a cure to the Thirst. Somehow, the dragon's blood had rid the immortal warrior of his hated weakness. He had become the perfect warrior, the immortality, strength and speed of a vampire without their dependency on blood._

_What became of Abhorash after that is a mystery. Some say that he is waiting within ancient forgotten fortress for a war worthy of a perfect warrior. Some say he resides within a tower erected upon that mountain, slumbering until the apocalypse and the final, terrible war of the world. Others say that he wonders the world in the guise of a traveling mercenary or a humble soldier, seeking out strong warriors and testing their abilities._

_His followers, the Blood Dragons, seek to emulate their progenitor by seeking out the most formidable of opponents, whether man or beast, and fighting them. They are obsessed with honing their marital skills until the day they are strong enough to challenge a dragon as Abhorash did, seeking to become one of their progenitor's chosen warriors._

_The next Bloodline can easily be considered the opposing group to the Blood Dragons, the Necrarchs. Unlike the Blood Dragons, the Necrarchs are masters of the Art of Necromancy, their bodies horribly twisted by the powerful dark magicks they study and wield._

_Their origins started with W'soran, the High Sage of the Fire Nation at the time and one of those who first studied the tomes and scrolls stolen from Nagash. It was from those tomes that his obsession with the dark lore began._

_After consuming the Elixir of Life, he focused all of his attention and time completely immersed within the writings of Nagash. W'soran formed a cabal of dark scholars that shared his twisted obsession. For years they practiced their dark arts, experimenting on those unfortunate to find themselves within their slave dens. When the city fell, W'soran and his surviving minions fled with as many their writings and tomes as they could carry. For a time, they hid in seclusion, continuing on as they did before._

_Until Nagash returned to the world, ushering in the Second Undead War began. W'soran and his cabal where the first of the Vampires to join Nagash and were among his favored lieutenants, earning jealously and animosity from the other vampires. But none could argue with results of their terrible spells, killing scores of soldiers with but a handful of words. However like the first war, this one ended in Nagash's defeat at the hands of the Avatar and the Four Nations once more and just as before, the vampires fled and scattered._

_But the Lord of the Necrarchs did not give up on Nagash's dream of a World of Undeath, where vampires ruled endlessly over mortal cattle. W'soran sent out his disciples across the world, to continue refining their black arts of death. However, something happened that he had not anticipated. Melkhior, the greatest of his students, betrayed, murdered and consumed W'soran._

_Ironically, Melkhior himself would share that same fate several centuries later, when his pupil Zacharias slew him._

_All of the Necrarchs share a few distinct traits, a natural affinity for the Art of Necromancy and a truly horrid physical appearance that is more akin to some of their twisted experiments. All share as well a much greater distain for humanity than any other Bloodline. It is commonly theorized that this why their physical appearance quickly deteriorates following their rebirth into the world of undeath. Unlike most of those in other Bloodlines that still cling to shreds of their former lives and humanity, whether in the trappings of nobility and courtly life, holding a warrior code of honor or simply revel the pleasures of mortals, most Necrarchs spurn everything that they once had as mortals, save for their thirst for knowledge which comes to surpass even their thirst for blood._

_But perhaps the most insidious of all the Bloodlines are the Lahmians, the daughters of the Queen of the Night. Like most of her Court, Neferata herself fled the destruction of city with her bodyguards and handmaidens. Like many of the others, she joined Nagash as he returned, seeking to have her vengeance against those who cast her from her throne. While W'soran was the leader of Nagash's vampire lieutenants, the Supreme Necromancer had a special place for Neferata and her servants within his armies. The Lahmians became the greatest of Nagash's spies, easily weaving themselves into the nobility that ruled the world. However, Neferata grew jealous of W'soran's power and authority over all vampires and increasingly fearful of becoming Nagash's slave once the nations of the world had been brought to heel. There are whispers among those of the other Bloodlines that fought in the war that the Lahmians secretly betrayed Nagash, providing vital information to his enemies while giving him an equal measure of information and misinformation. Of course, there is no way to tell if this is true or merely lies spread by their enemies and rivals._

_Once Nagash and his vampire allies were defeated, Neferata and her followers fled to somewhere in the southern Earth Kingdom. They say that one night she arrived in the fabled Silver Pinnacle of Kyofu, the great mountaintop city that had made its wealth from the vast deposits of precious minerals below their feet. But while the Silver Pinnacle was a beautiful city, it was also an impenetrable fortress. Countless assaults on the city's walls have been attempted in the past, all ending in failure._

_However, no one within the city's walls was prepared for a supernatural threat from within. It is said that as the sun set on the following day, the vampires and their undead minions rose from the shadows, consuming every single one of the city's soldiers and benders while enslaving the rest of the population as cattle. Neferata herself now resides in the palace of Kyofu, surrounding herself in a recreation of the court she once presided over._

_Now, the Silver Pinnacle is considered little more than a myth. People tell stories of a lost city of countless riches waiting to be found and claimed. Over the years, many, many treasure hunters had spent their lives seeking out the Silver Pinnacle. The lucky ones never find it; the unlucky ones do and are never seen again._

_The Lahmia Bloodline is unique in one regard above all others; all who bear their blood are women. The Dark Queen has created a formidable network of alluring agents within the nobility of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. It is impossible to say just how many of these agents are living among the upper class or just how they've manipulated the nations of the world or even what Neferata's ultimate plan is._

_These vampires are utterly beautiful and utterly deadly. Only a fool would consider the Lahmia vampires weaker than their cousins from the other Bloodlines. Many heroes have made the mistake of rescuing a beautiful damsel from a monster's lair only to discover that the damsel and the monster were one and the same, a handmaiden of Neferata. Their beauty and ferocity are legendary among vampires._

_Finally of the Five Lords, there is Vashanesh himself. Unlike his wife, he would not-could not let go of his Crown. Ever since his exile, he schemed and plotted to reclaim what he believed was and always will be his. While most of the other Vampire Lords eventually settle in a place to recreate what they had lost, his obsession prevented him from accepting anything less than the Fire Nation. For centuries he traveled the world, seeking out mortals that he found a kinship to and gifting them with his blood._

_The Bloodline he created became known as the Jiang Shi. Interestingly, they seem to be a perfect blend of the other Bloodlines. The physical prowess of the Blood Dragons; the magical might of the Necrarchs; the seductive allure of the Lahmi; and the transformation abilities of the Strigoi, all combined into a single Bloodline. But they are by no means the mightiest of Bloodlines. While they possess the abilities of the others, their abilities aren't quite as strong as the others._

_Similar to the Lahmia, the Jiang Shi have a loose organization under Vashanesh, whom became the Father-in-Blood to them all. As a result, nearly of the Jiang Shi consider every member of their Bloodline regardless of generation as Brother-in-Blood or Sister-in-Blood, all children of Vashanesh. However, many of them are even more selfish and power-hungry than other vampires. Nearly all of the Jiang Shi have inherited their Progenitor's desire power and dominance over others or had it in excess when they were alive. Most serve Vashanesh out of respect, fear or through the master-thrall bond between vampires and those they sire rather than any true loyalty and devotion. Of course, they also carry out their own insidious plots as they serve Vashanesh._

_But in the end, Vashanesh's schemes were all for naught and he was slain by Avatar Aang and a newborn vampire that he had created._

_Of the two missing Lords, there are only a few remaining records and legends as to who they were and what happened to them. They were Maatmeses, the corpulent and corrupt Chief Justice of the Fire Nation and the ever scheming Court Vizier, Harakhte. It is known that both survived the destruction of the former capital and fought alongside the armies of Nagash with their followers. But after that, they disappear into the mists of time. Only two legends offer any hint as to what happened to them and their supposed Bloodlines._

_The first legend originated from the Air Nomads but had passed among the other nations long before their annihilation. They speak of how sinister serpent cult wormed its way into the upper echelons of their society. The cult operated only at night, conducting all manner of rituals, using drugs created from snake venom, herbs and blood, performing blood sacrifices, consuming human blood and numerous dozens of hedonistic acts of depravity, overseen and led by pale-faced cultists. Eventually, their leaders had become so corrupted and consumed by vice that it was impossible to hide it anymore from the rest of their people. A civil war raged through the civilization of the Air Nomads, ending with the destruction of the cult and the adopting of the spiritual society they possessed prior to their end at the hands of the Fire Nation. However, there have been tales since of similar cults rising up within other nations. Perhaps the true masters of the serpent cult did not perish as was believed._

_From the southern island chain of the Earth Kingdom, there were stories of how long ago they were enslaved by monstrous demons that fed on the souls of men. Interestingly, they also speak of these demons possessing a horrible Art. Supposedly, they could tear and shape the flesh of men, animals and even themselves into things utterly unnatural and utterly monstrous like an artist with a lump of clay. But eventually when rumors and tales began to reach other parts of the world, the demons disappeared. After that, there have been no further stories of such demons. However, there have been a few stories of unusual monsters that have suddenly come into being. Perhaps they are failed creations that have been cast out by their makers._

_Finally, there is the thirteenth and newest Vampire Lord to emerge into this world, born from scheming of Vashanesh, the last of the Elixir of Life and a broken princess of the Fire Nation-_

"Pardon the intrusion my Lord," a Kyoshi Warrior spoke, interrupting Azula from her writings. "But our patrols in the Yamamoto District discovered at body that had been fed upon."

The Lord of Republic City rolled her eyes in annoyance. For the decades that she had wandered the world, studying the lore and history of her people and in all of that time, it had amazed her that their long history had never been properly recorded into a single volume. There were plenty of partial written accounts, some so utterly biased that it even an idiot could see it while others were little more than half-truths and myths written by ignorant mortals. Long ago, Azula had decided to change that and create a complete history on the origins of the Vampire race and its Bloodlines. After nearly twenty years of pouring over countless tomes and scrolls, sifting through truth and fiction, she had finally begun compiling it all into single grand volume of vampire history. "And your point is? Disappearances and deaths have been low these past few months," she dismissed. "One body hardly matters."

"I know," the undead woman replied, entering the study. "But we found this."

She placed a knife on the table, a very, very familiar knife.

Azula instantly dropped her quill and grabbed the weapon, studying it intently. "Mai," she whispered, lost in thought for a brief moment. Once it passed, Azula looked up at her subordinate. "Spread word of this only to those of our blood. None of the others must know that she is here. Make sure the patrols know that Mai and my brother have entered the city and that they are not to be confronted. If they are spotted, tell them to send word to me immediately."

The vampire nodded her head. "As you command," she replied before heading to leave the chamber

"And bring Ty Lee, Sokka and Suki to me immediately!" Azula called out as the warrior passed through the threshold of the doors.

"They won't get here in time," a voice commented as knife blade was pressed up against her throat.

But Azula was one to be trifled with. In a blur of speed faster than anything a human could achieve, she thrust the knife in her hand into the hand of her attacker. There was a hiss as the blade fell from her neck. With that opening, Azula leaped from her chair over the table and landed halfway across the room. "You think I need their help to deal with you?" she said as she turned to her attacker, ignoring the small amount of blood that trickled down her neck. "You're nothing but an angry little child Mai. Despite your cold exterior, you've always been so… _emotional_."

The scowling vampire said nothing as she removed the knife from her hand, the wound healing rapidly. Suddenly, Mai threw a barrage of her deadly knives at inhuman speeds. But Azula was faster, drawing her sword, Blood Drinker, from her robes. The sword was once the dread blade of Vashanesh and was among several of his prized relics that she had recovered after the death of the ancient vampire. As its name implied, whenever the blade drew the blood of mortals or vampires it would consume the blood and that stolen bit of life force would revitalize its wielder. Holding the weapon in one hand, she effortlessly deflected the flying blades with it. As soon as the knives stopped, Azula thrust her left hand at Mai, chanting several words of a forgotten tongue. Her briefly glowed with dark energy a split-second before Mai was violently thrown back, flying out the balcony to the city below.

Smirking, Azula raced to the balcony and leaped after her, wings of blackness emerging from the back of her robes. Mai slammed into the roof of a neighboring building. She was picking herself up, healing her injuries as Azula gracefully landed nearby. Once her feet touched the ground, her wings disappeared and Azula pulled off her robes, revealing light armor of black and red.

"Tonight is the night that you pay for all the suffering you've caused, for all the lives you've claimed!" Mai shouted, a pair of sais emerging from her sleeves.

"Come then Mai if you think that you can kill your Sire," Azula replied, laughing at her words. "See if you can kill the unkillable!"

Mai howled, racing towards the one that had cursed her with undeath, her weapons raised to strike. With a smirk, Azula held her sword up before her while a ball of blue fire emerged in her other hand, azure light reflecting off the lone signet ring on her finger.

* * *

When I first started playing with the idea of an Avatar/Vampire Counts story, I had a number of different ideas but one thing that united them all was this merged history of the history of them in the Avatar world. In fact, the early draft of the history was the first of any of the ideas here to be written down.

Now, while it is Warhammer canon that twelve drank the Elixir of Life and that seven escaped the destruction of their city, the Bloodlines of Maatmeses and Harakhte have only been mentioned in vague rumors and legends which probably more of Game Workshop's classic stance of saying create your own Bloodline. So I just used two Bloodlines from Vampire: The Masquerade that weren't particularly akin to any of the Vampire Count Bloodlines.


	5. Important Note

Recently, I've hit a roadblock for all of my currently existing stories. It's been born through stresses in real life and a recent in flux of annoying PM spams from various people demanding updates for various stories of mine to the point that I feel utterly frustrated with everything. So I'm going to write a new Avatar story. Namely one of the three ideas I have up in my 'Avatar Story Ideas'. So those of you reading this off 'Twist of Fate' and haven't read those ideas, go look them up. Basically, I've narrowed it down to those three base ideas though thanks to suggestions from fans, I've refined those ideas into something better. (at least to me anyway) So they won't quite be what I've shown in those story ideas.

However, I cannot decide which one to write. Therefore, I will be putting up poll on my profile page to let you, my fans, choose. I'm going to put it up for about a week and which ever story wins will be what I work on for now.

Also, I haven't given up on my other stories, I'm just taking a total break from them for awhile. And any further advice or suggestions for my stories are as always welcomed.


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